Acupuncture Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Many people who suffer from irritable bowel syndrome turn to acupuncture for help, due to a sense of frustration and helplessness, mostly arising out of the inability of doctors to provide clarity on this condition. A large number of these people claim to obtain considerable relief from the condition after using acupuncture. However, what exactly is irritable bowel syndrome, and can acupuncture really help treat it?

Irritable bowel syndrome is a functional disorder of the bowels that is characterized by symptoms such as abdominal pain, abdominal bloating, and discomfort, often accompanied by either diarrhea or constipation. The term “irritable bowel syndrome” is really used to describe a group of diseases – conditions that may be included are a variety of parasitic infections of the digestive system, celiac disease, and a number of inflammatory diseases of the digestive system such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. Due to the varied nature of the causes and differences in the exact nature of the condition from one patient to the next, understanding of irritable bowel syndrome has been limited till quite recently. Till about ten years ago, there were many who considered it to be a psychosomatic illness. Treatment options were also therefore quite limited, and mostly consisted of trial and error measures for individual patients.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome Pain

However, acupuncture seems to be relatively more successful at treating the condition, especially in the area of pain relief. Studies on the efficacy of acupuncture in treating irritable bowel syndrome have shown lasting reduction in abdominal pain and in stress too, which is sometimes a trigger. It is still not clear why acupuncture has this effect, but it seems quite certain that it works. Acupuncture of course is based upon the theory of chi, or energy, flowing through the body, in pathways called meridians. The idea is to manipulate and ease the flow of energy through the use of needles. There is no proof that chi or meridians exist, and therefore the idea of manipulating this energy through needles holds no water in modern science. However, studies in neuroscience have indicated that acupuncture may modify pain perception by releasing natural painkillers that block pain signals to the brain. There are other theories too, but most of them seem to indicate an analgesic effect. This of course would indicate that, like any other painkiller, acupuncture is a symptomatic treatment. There may be pain relief, but the underlying condition and its causes remain unchanged. For this reason, it is not advisable to rely entirely upon acupuncture – other measures, particularly dietary modification, are very important too.