Acupuncture Outperforms Medications For Irritable Bowel Syndrome

By Dr. Tanvi Tijoriwala, ND

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), also known as irritable colon or spastic colon is a digestive concern characterized by symptoms such as stomach pain, diarrhea, constipation and/or bloating. The symptoms vary from person-to-person and severely affects a person’s quality of life. For example, IBS sufferers may not be able to eat at restaurants without experiencing gut issues, or often experience an urgency to go to the bathroom.

Symptoms of IBS are manageable through naturopathic therapies to improve the quality of life and decrease the pain experienced due to IBS.

A recent study explored acupuncture as a treatment modality for IBS symptoms. Acupuncture is often considered as a treatment exclusively for pain management. However, many studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of acupuncture for digestive concerns and hormonal concerns.

In this study, researches divided patients who were diagnosed with IBS into two groups. One group received pharmaceutical treatment for their IBS with Polyethylene glycol (PEG 4000)/pinaverium bromide for 6 weeks. The second group received acupuncture treatments for 6 weeks.

Results  After 6 weeks, researchers noticed that the group that received acupuncture treatments experienced a greater decrease in symptoms of IBS and an increased quality of life compared to the medication group. The acupuncture group also experienced benefits of the treatment for 12 weeks AFTER the treatment had stopped. Conversely, many symptoms worsened after the medication group stopped their medications.

The study concludes that acupuncture is a safe and effective treatment for symptoms of Irritable bowel syndrome.

The amount of discomfort that people with IBS experience is profound and acupuncture treatments can help alleviate these symptoms and elevate their lifestyle, allowing them to eat food without the fear of experiencing pain.

If you suffer from IBS and want to know if acupuncture is a good treatment option for you please feel free to email me at dr.tanvi@muscleandjoint.ca

Our clinic has taken several precautions to ensure your safety while getting in-person acupuncture treatments. If you would like to receive acupuncture treatments for your digestive concerns, you can book your appointment here.