Irritable
Bowel Syndrome
Alternative
& Complementary Therapies
Colonic Hydrotherapy
& IBS
What is Colonic Hydrotherapy?: - Colonic Hydrotherapy is an
internal bath to help cleanse the colon (large intestine) of poisons, gas, accumulated
fecal matter and the mucus deposits. Sterilised equipment is used to flush filtered water
through the colon to help expel waste products and compacted deposits.
The Theory of Colonic Hydrotherapy: - The colon is the last
five feet or so of intestible tube, approximately five feet in length. Food waste enters
into the colon from the small intestines in a fluid state and water,
minerals and vitamins
are then reabsorbed and toxins and other waste materials eliminated through the rectum.
Therefore, if the colon is not functioning correctly, many disorders can result including
constipation, diverticulitis, haemorrhoids, irritable bowel syndrome and even bowel
cancer. In 1912, the Royal Society of Medicine published a report stating that toxicity in
the intestines can be a contributing cause to sleep disorders, mental and physical
deppresion, skin problems, breast cancer, bladder infections, headaches, as well as
digestive disorders. The report concluded by saying: "To no other single cause is it
possible to attribute one tenth as many various and widely diverse disorders."
What is involved in treatment by Colonic Hydrotherapy?: -
Filtered water maintained at a carefully regulated temperature is slowly introduced using
specialised, sterilised equipment into the rectum. The patients' modesty is maintained at
all times and you would usually be given a special gown to wear. The therapist will work
progressively around the structure of the colon allowing water to flow in and then
release, thereby expelling accumulated toxins and impactions.
The whole process takes about 30 minutes and herbal
preparations are sometimes used for specific conditions with regular implants of
lactobacillus acidophilus given to assure normalisation of the bowel flora.
How Effective is Colonic Hydrotherapy in treating Irritable
Bowel Syndrome?: - The Health Education Council, National Advisory Committee on Nutrition
Education (September 1983) reported that 85% of the population have slow bowel movements
with as many as 40% of the population in the United Kingdom being regularly constipated.
When the colon does not function properly, other eliminating organs (e.g., skin, kidneys,
lungs and lymph) become overloaded and subsequently they too become affected.
The Colonic International Assocation advises that diarrhoea
is "helped by the resultant detoxifying effect of colonic hydrotherapy" (1).
However, it is doubtful whether colonic hydrotherapy will be effective if used alone,
without consideration to diet and other causative factors. Even the Colonic International
Association itself recommends that Colonic Hydrotherapy "is best used as a
complementary technique to other therapies. By improving elimination, response to dietary,
homœopathic, herbal, manipulative and other therapies is markedly improved."
(1) Health Improvement through Colonic Hydrotherapy -
Colonic International Assocation
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Hypnotherapy
& Psychotherapy
& IBS
All physical diseases including cancer, heart disease and even skin
complaints have been helped with Hypnotherapy and Psychotherapy. The power of suggestion
and mental imagery is a tool all too often overlooked but which can be of immense help to
diarrhoea sufferers. Remember also that diarrhoea is a stress related condition and
Hypnotherapy and Psychotherapy are both excellent aids to help control emotional stress.
A controlled study in Europe involving 266 patients found
that psychotherapy can improve the therapeutic possibilities of drugs, diet and surgery.
Psychotherapy combined with relaxation and removal of stress were considered along with
the personality of the patient before the outbreak of chronic diseases related to
diarrhoea such as crohn's disease and irritable bowel syndrome. It was suggested that
unknown emotional conflicts such as depression, mental lability and anorexia may influence
the course of these diseases (1).
(1)
Psychotherapy of Crohn disease Zur Psychotherapie des M. Crohn. Feiereis H
Langenbecks Arch Chir 1984, 364 p407-11
Patients
suffering from irritable bowel syndrome and other gastrointestinal
disorders are all too often treated with steroids or anti-inflammatories
to alleviate the symptoms. It is well known that diet and nutrition play
an important part in the treatment of gastro-intestinal disorders but it
is not commonly appreciated that hypnotherapy and psychotherapies offer
extremely effective therapeutic options that should not be overlooked when
considering the appropriate remedial treatment.
In a recent
review of available controlled studies in the field of gastroenterology
conducted at the University Hospital of South Manchester, West Didsbury
UK, scientists discovered that t hypnotherapy is unequivocally beneficial
for patients suffering from gastrointestinal disorders including irritable
bowel syndrome and peptic ulceration (1).
German
researchers also recently demonstrated that emotional stress plays a
significant role in irritable bowel syndrome(2). The researchers compared
drug therapy with psychotherapy and acupuncture on patients who were
diagnosed with and shown to be suffering from irritable bowel syndrome.
Their results of
the study revealed that psychotherapies helped to successfully alleviate
the symptoms in 74 per cent of the patients - a far higher number than was
noted in any of the other therapies. However, acupuncture was also found
to be effective, albeit to a lesser degree, achieving long term success in
31% per cent of the patients treated which was markedly better than
placebo acupuncture treatment which only produced success in 17.2 per cent
of the patients. Drug therapy (papaverine) resulted in a long-lasting
status free of symptoms in 17.2% of the patients but this was
significantly better than the results of the papaverine-placebo-therapy
which produced no improvement at all. The researchers concluded that the
psychotherapies played by far the most significant role in treating the
disorder than had previously been suspected.
Scientists at the
Gastroenterology Unit, Frenchay Hospital, Bristol came up with similar
results(3). 33 patients with refractory irritable bowel syndrome were
treated with four 40-minute
sessions of hypnotherapy over a period of 7 weeks. Twenty of the group
(60%) improved, of whom eleven were shown to be completely free of all
symptoms. Short-term improvement was maintained for 3 months without the
need of further formal treatments and the researchers concluded that
hypnotherapy in groups of up to 8 patients was
as effective as individual therapy in the treatment of irritable bowel
syndrome..
Finally a
research study reported in the Lancet also confirmed the importance of
hypnotherapy and psychotherapies in the treatment of irritable bowel
syndrome. In this study, thirty patients with severe refractory
irritable-bowel syndrome were randomly allocated
to treatment with either hypnotherapy or psychotherapy and placebo.
The psychotherapy
patients showed a small but significant improvement in abdominal
pain, abdominal distension, and general well-being but not in bowel habit. However, the patients who received
hypnotherapy treatment showed a dramatic improvement in all features, and
the difference between the two treatments was found to be highly
significant. Patients in the hypnotherapy group showed no relapses during
the 3-month follow-up period, and no substitution symptoms were observed
either.
These reports
provide strong evidence to support a more integrated approach in the
treatment of gastro-intestinal disorders in which hypnotherapy and
psychotherapy should be considered in the initial stages of the disorder
as valuable aids and alternatives to conventional treatment.
(1) Whorwell
PJ.Use of hypnotherapy in gastrointestinal disease. Br J Hosp Med
(ENGLAND) Jan 1991, 45 (1) p27-9
(2) Kunze M; Seidel HJ; Stube G [Comparative studies of the effectiveness
of brief psychotherapy, acupuncture and papaverin therapy in patients with
irritable bowel syndrome] Vergleichende Untersuchungen zur Effektivitat
der kleinen Psychotherapie, der Akupunktur und der Papaverintherapie bei
Patienten mit Colon irritabile. Klinik fur Innere Medizin, Bereich
Neuropsychiatrie, Bezirkskrankenhauses Suhl.Z Gesamte Inn Med (GERMANY)
Oct 15 1990, 45 (20) p625-7
(3) Harvey RF; Hinton RA; Gunary RM; Barry RE Individual and group
hypnotherapy in treatment of refractory irritable bowel syndrome. Lancet
(ENGLAND) Feb 25 1989, 1 (8635) p424-5
(4) Controlled trial of hypnotherapy in the treatment of severe refractory
irritable-bowel syndrome.Whorwell PJ; Prior A; Faragher EB. Lancet
(ENGLAND) Dec 1 1984, 2 (8414) p1232-4
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Acupuncture
& IBS
Acupuncture has traditionally been successfully employed in China to treat
most illnesses. There is little doubt that acupuncture is an excellent therapy for people
suffering with irritable bowel syndrome; in 1979 the World Health organisation listed 40
major diseases that could find relief by acupuncture treatment and diseases of the
intestinal tract including irritable bowel syndrome were included in that number. (1)
This is not surprising since acupuncture works through the
nervous system and energy channels in the body and has also been shown to cause the brain
to release endorphines and encephalins (natural pain killers), boost the immune system and
calm the nervous system. It has also been established that all psycho-physiological health
problems (which may be relevant in some cases of irritable bowel syndrome) are
particularly suitable for acupuncture treatment (2)
(1) Dr S Fulder- The Handbook of Complemnetary Medicine
(Coronet books)
(2)Mann F The Treatment of disease by acupuncture. Part 1 & 2 (Heinnemann Medical
Books)
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Chinese
Herbal Medicine & Irritable bowel syndrome
CONTEXT:
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common functional bowel disorder
for which there is no reliable medical treatment.
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) is of
any benefit in the treatment of IBS.
DESIGN: Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted
during 1996 through 1997.
SETTING: Patients were recruited through 2 teaching hospitals and 5
private practices of gastroenterologists, and received CHM in 3
Chinese herbal clinics.
PATIENTS: A total of 116 patients who fulfilled the Rome criteria,
an established standard for diagnosis of IBS.
INTERVENTION: Patients were randomly allocated to 1 of 3 treatment
groups: individualized Chinese herbal formulations (n = 38), a
standard Chinese herbal formulation (n = 43), or placebo (n = 35).
Patients received 5 capsules 3 times daily for 16 weeks and were
evaluated regularly by a traditional Chinese herbalist and by a
gastroenterologist. Patients, gastroenterologists, and herbalists
were all blinded to treatment group.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Change in total bowel symptom scale scores
and global improvement assessed by patients and gastroenterologists
and change in the degree of interference in life caused by IBS
symptoms assessed by patients.
RESULTS: Compared with patients in the placebo group, patients in
the active treatment groups (standard and individualized CHM) had
significant improvement in bowel symptom scores as rated by patients
(P=.03) and by gastroenterologists (P=.001), and significant global
improvement as rated by patients (P=.007) and by gastroenterologists
(P=.002). Patients reported that treatment significantly reduced the
degree of interference with life caused by IBS symptoms (P=.03).
Chinese herbal formulations individually tailored to the patient
proved no more effective than standard CHM treatment. On follow-up
14 weeks after completion of treatment, only the individualized CHM
treatment group maintained improvement.
CONCLUSION: Chinese herbal formulations appear to offer improvement
in symptoms for some patients with IBS.
JAMA 1998 Nov
11;280(18):1585-9 Bensoussan
A, Talley NJ, Hing M, Menzies R, Guo A, Ngu M Research
Unit for Complementary Medicine, University of Western Sydney Macarthur,
Campbelltown, New
South Wales, Australia. a.bensoussan@uws.edu.au
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