A Holistic Approach to Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Ending the embarrassment of cramping, bloating, gas and diarrhea

A Chiropractic Approach

Irritable bowel syndrome is one of the most common disorders that doctors see in practice. One in 5 Americans experiences this disorder, yet it is not talked about very often because of embarrassing signs and symptoms. These may include abdominal cramping, bloating and gas, diarrhea and constipation or both. Irritable bowel syndrome does not cause inflammation in the bowel, changes in bowel tissue, or an increase in colorectal cancer but it really affects activities of daily living.

Irritable bowel syndrome is not a disease. It is defined as a functional disorder, meaning the bowel is not functioning properly. The muscles and nerves in the bowel act extra sensitive in those individuals with IBS. After eating, the muscles of the bowel may contract too much leading to cramping and diarrhea.  Also, when the bowel stretches due to food moving through it, the extra sensitive nerves lead to pain and cramping. Treatment of irritable bowel syndrome usually includes dietary modifications, stress relief, and medication.

Another factor that could possibly cause or affect IBS is spinal dysfunction. If the spinal nerves that supply the bowel are being irritated from spinal dysfunction at those levels, this could potentially lead to extra sensitive nerves as well as muscle spasms in the bowel itself.  Chiropractors described these spinal dysfunctions as vertebral subluxations. Vertebral subluxations occur when the joints of the spine are misaligned, get stuck, or don’t move right. This leads to irritation of the surrounding spinal nerves which can affect any of the tissues these nerves supply. The nerves that supply the bowel come off the spine from the thoracic 11 to lumbar 3 levels in the middle to lower back.  Therefore, a vertebral subluxation at any of these levels could potentially cause irritable bowel type symptoms. Chiropractors treat these vertebral subluxations with adjustments to the spine at the level of the misaligned vertebra.  The adjustment is a controlled force done by hand or instrument into the stuck joint to restore its normal motion.  Restoring this motion removes the irritation of the surrounding spinal nerves and returns balance to the nervous system and the tissues being supplied.

Dr. Will Mihin, Chiropractor owns The North Idaho Spine Clinic in Sandpoint (208)265-2225.

A Homeopathic Approach

Six homeopathic remedies should be considered for irritable bowel syndrome. 1. Argentium Nitricum (silver nitrate) for the impulsive, claustrophobic individual with an anxiety about their health. 2. Colocynthis (cucumber) when abdominal pains improve with pressure and/or bending over but is gets  worse when one is angry or easy to anger, frustrated, or indignant. 3.  Lilium Tigrinum (Tiger-lily) for the hurried person with great irritability or rage who experiences diarrhea in the morning upon waking. 4. Lycopodium (club moss) for the person with a sense of inferiority they constantly try to overcome, with strong sweet cravings, who have loud rumblings in the abdomen, and who become bloated or feel worse after eating even a small amount of food. 5. Natrum Carbonicum (carbonate of sodium) for gentle refined people whose symptoms of indigestion become worse from exposure to the sun, have weak digestion, and who experience stomach pains from drinking milk. 6. Nux Vomica (poison nut) for the workaholic, irritable and impatient person that craves spicy foods, fat, alcohol, coffee and tobacco. Their cramping sharp stomach pains become worse from anger, tight clothes, warmth to the body,  and warm drinks. As always consult your homeopath for the best prescription.

Chris Rinehart, Homeopath, can be reached at (208) 610-0868

A CranioSacral Therapy  Approach

Irritable bowel syndrome can be one of the most painful and potentially dangerous chronic conditions to experience.  Over the years it can become increasingly worse, may cause degeneration to the colon if left unaddressed , and sometimes leads to the removal of part of the intestines.  CranioSacral therapy can by no means cure this condition, but it can alleviate some of its symptoms.  By utilizing gentle tissue release techniques, the CS practitioner can help the intestines, pelvic bowl, and abdominal muscles to relax. This gives much needed relief from the constant churning and cramping clients experience with this health issue. Some experts say that IBS can be caused or worsened by emotional stress.  CranioSacral therapy helps with calming the nervous system, thus allowing for deep rest.  As a result, many clients experience lower stress levels and feel more relaxed in their bodies.    

Ilani Kopiecki, CMT, Certified CranioSacral Therapist, (208) 610-2005

A Rolfing Approach

Over the years, many of the clients who saw me for musculo-skeletal problems also reported having Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).  In every case, these clients’ abdomens were tenser than the norm. Up to 50% of gastroenterology referrals are related to this syndrome.

As a Rolfer, I view the body as parts that are all interconnected. Systemic tension and misalignment throughout the body can cause gut tension. The converse is also true; your gut tension will produce strain in your musculo-skeletal system, as my study of visceral manipulation (releasing tension specific to organs) showed me. It’s as if each organ is a balloon attached to other balloons that are attached to the inner abdominal wall. The tension of the body can affect the structure and positioning of one of these organ balloons, pulling them out of position, which will affect the organ’s function.

What does stress do?

Beyond structural stress, any emotional or physiological stress compounds the problem. Emotional stress builds up in your soft tissue–and your guts are all soft tissue. They can become an emotional reservoir for chronic stress. If you hold onto your feelings, you hold your guts tense.  Since the colon is partly controlled by the autonomic nervous system (the survival, or fight-or-flight, nervous system) we are inescapably tied to storing chronic stress in our gut. This constant irritation creates inflammation, which produces an immune response, which many researchers tie to IBS.

Trauma, both physical and emotional, can set up IBS. The physical trauma of an injury or surgery can create structural strain that affects the colon. Emotional trauma can produce post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that continually produces tension for the brain-gut axis.  

What is the solution?

If structural or emotional stress is part of the cause of your IBS, you need to release that stress to achieve sustainable results. Creating a relaxed stomach is part of this. I know what you’re thinking: we’re supposed to have a tight stomach, right? What about rock-hard abs? Six-packs? But a tight, hard gut is not healthy. Babies and animals don’t have tense stomachs; adults do because of stress and aesthetics.

Often the biggest hurdle I have with my clients getting well is having them relax their stomachs so they breathe deeper, giving their organs more room and getting their deep back muscles to relax. I also tell them not to do sits-ups or crunches until they master breathing with their bellies.

When I had my clinic in Scottsdale, AZ, where we ran our Mindfulness Stress Reduction courses, we got a lot of students with IBS. By learning to relax—particularly, relax their stomachs—their conditions would improve or disappear.

Physical manipulation, such as Rolfing, is the short cut to getting your stomach to relax and stay relaxed, thereby allowing your bowel to heal. No part of your body can fully heal if it is under stress. Its resources are going to what it experiences as survival, not to healing.

Take a deep breath, breathe into your abdomen, relax your stomach … you are now on the road to healing your IBS.

Owen Marcus, Rolfer, (208) 265-8440

A Physical Therapy Approach

Although you may not think of Physical Therapy and irritable bowel syndrome, you may find relief with Visceral Manipulation.  This is a type of very specialized treatment that involves soft but often deep pressures to release facial restrictions around the organs.  The fascia wraps our organs and muscles like a mummy and often becomes restricted following trauma, surgeries, or infection.

 For more information about Visceral Manipulation, call Mary Boyd, MS, PT and owner of Mountain View Physical Therapy at 290-5575 or www.BarralInstitute.com .

A Nutritional Approach

The importance of proper diagnosis for IBS cannot be understated, as addressing many contributing factors and finding effective solutions will bring the greatest relief to this syndrome.

From a nutritional approach, increasing dietary fiber in the diet and addressing any allergic responses, food intolerances, and sensitivities to food or chemical toxins has proven to help.  Increasing natural fibers found in fruits and vegetables is a healthy way to improve symptoms.  Oftentimes people choose to add wheat bran and wheat products as their fiber choices.  This must be closely monitored for results, as wheat is often an allergen for many people.  As well, in certain cases of diarrhea, fiber can make things worse.  Gently cooking vegetables at first may be a solution for those with diarrhea.

According to Michael Murray in his Textbook of Natural Medicine, he reports the high association with food allergies in studies undertaken on IBS since the 1990s.  “Foods rich in carbohydrates, . . . fatty foods, coffee, alcohol, [refined sugars], and hot spices are most frequently reported to cause symptoms.”  He further reports that many people are also sensitive to dairy and grains.  By undertaking an elimination diet, where one food at a time is completely removed from one’s diet, and then noting any symptom relief begins the process of understanding, finding specific sensitivities, and eliminating them as causes of IBS.

Krystle Shapiro, LMT, Touchstone Massage Therapies, (208) 290-6760

For more information, visit these resources on the web:

IBS at Wikipedia

IBS at Mother Nature

The IBS website

Positive Health