Recently a student of mine asked me about the efficacy of yoga for IBS – her NRI relative was suffering from it. Irritable Bowel Syndrome or IBS is a common but intractable and painful ailment that many suffer from. This is basically chronic indigestion that results in symptoms such as bloating, stomach pain, gas, diarrhea, constipation and so on. It is also problematic since there is no real cure; the condition can only be managed with the help of various modalities. It is estimated that 12% of all visits to primary healthcare providers have to do with IBS.
Living with IBS
Calling it indigestion detracts from the seriousness of this condition. The symptoms, including abdominal pain, can range from the mild to the severe, and IBS is known to cause fatigue and headaches as well. IBS is noted to significantly reduce quality of life and is a known risk factor for depression, anxiety and chronic fatigue syndrome. Since there is no real cure, the condition is typically managed with food avoidance, or dietary and other life style changes. Probiotics, counselling and medication may be needed to manage the disease. Though IBS causes are not fully understood, stress is a known trigger for IBS related episodes.
Studies have examined the impact of yoga on IBS patients and have found that yoga can help to manage the symptoms and lessen their severity or frequency. The impact is twofold: firstly, the physical exercises help aid digestion and ease symptoms, and secondly, yoga helps reduce stress and aids relaxation, thereby reducing IBS triggers. One study found that when a yoga module was used as remedial therapy for IBS, the primary and secondary symptoms of the condition were seen to reduce. A 12-week Remedial Yoga Module was found to be feasible both as a standalone treatment as well as part of an integrative approach that used mainstream treatments for IBS.
Another IBS-Yoga Study
Another study demonstrated that those study participants with IBS who did yoga fared better on several parameters than those who did not do yoga. Those in the yoga group showed less disability, anxiety and avoidance behaviour than those in the non-yoga group.
Researchers noted greater activation of some parts of the brain in the yoga group. The part of the brain seen to have a calming impact on the body was seen to be activated. In the event, the researchers felt that doing yoga in addition to receiving other treatments could help to improve outcomes significantly.
According to experts, there is a significant connection between IBS flare-ups and the sufferers moods and stress – in other words their mental state. Stress control and counselling therefore may form a part of IBS treatment/ management protocols. This, for me is yet more evidence of the connection between the body and the mind – how the health of one inevitably impacts the health of the other.
This is also something that I have noted during my yoga therapy sessions. I find that there is usually a mental or emotional component to most physical ailments, and that by working through one, there is usually an improvement noted in the other. Studies where yoga has helped people with IBS simply confirm this experience of mine.