Alternative therapies for irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, include acupuncture, herbal medicines and hypnotherapy. When patients use these treatments in conjunction with conventional medical therapy, they are called complementary therapies instead of alternative therapies. Regardless of the name applied, the National Institutes of Health note that Americans invest billions of dollars each year on such therapies for the treatment of IBS and other conditions.
Acupuncture
According to the National Institutes of Health, the use of acupuncture in traditional Chinese medicine dates back thousands of years, even though the technique only made its debut in the United States during the 1970s. In a 2010 letter published in the journal "Gastroenterology," University of Michigan gastroenterologists Monthira Maneerattanaporn, M.D. and William D. Chey, M.D. observe that, while studies in animal models of IBS have generally produced favorable results, clinical trials in humans have been troubled by methodological issues, such as the lack of a true placebo for acupuncture. A 2002 technical review by the American Gastroenterological Association concludes that, despite the absence of conclusive scientific data proving the effectiveness of acupuncture as a treatment for IBS, many patients unequivocally report benefits from its use.
Herbal Medications
Herbal medications have long been used in Asian and other cultures to treat a variety of complaints, including IBS. In 2006, the prestigious Cochrane Database published a systematic review on the effectiveness of such medications for the treatment of IBS. The authors found that 22 out of 51 herbal medications demonstrated clinically and statistically significant benefits on IBS symptoms when used instead of conventional therapy. In nine trials that compared conventional therapy alone to conventional therapy plus herbal medications, six herbal medications conferred additional benefits over conventional therapy alone. Among these were two standardized, multi-herb preparations marketed in the United States, the Tibetan formula Padma Lax and the German formula Iberogast.
Hypnotherapy
The first reported use of hypnosis in medicine occurred during the 19th century when it was briefly employed as an alternative to anesthesia in patients undergoing orthopedic surgery. It now serves as an adjunct to anesthesia for some pediatric procedures and has successfully been used on its own and as a complement to conventional medicine in the treatment migraine headaches and chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. A 2008 Cochrane Database review found just four randomized studies on hypnotherapy as a treatment for IBS. While the evidence suggested that hypnotherapy improved pain and other IBS symptoms, the authors caution that there were too few participants to justify a recommendation for routine clinical use.
References
- National Institutes of Health: Acupuncture: An Introduction
- "Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews;" Herbal Medicines for Treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome; J.P. Liu et al.; Jan. 2006
- "Gastroenterology;" American Gastroenterological Association Technical Review on Irritable Bowel Syndrome; D.A. Drossman et al.; Dec. 2002
- "Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews;" Hypnotherapy for Treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome; A.N. Webb et al.; 2008
- National Institutes of Health: What Is Complementary and Alternative Medicine?
