The old saying ‘you are what you eat’ has some truth, yet why is it if we change our dietary habits, take supplements and exercise it quite often is not enough to remedy a digestive disorder that has occurred. Over the counter products are easily available to aid us in some of the immediate acute problems such as vomiting and diarrhoea, but long term issues such as chronic constipation, ulcerative colitis or stomach ulcers are not so easily helped in this way.
Gastro-intestinal conditions are amongst the most common to be seen in a GPs surgery, and are equally common in Acupuncture clinics. Broadly these conditions might be grouped as 1) Non serious digestive complaints that can often be treated with changes to diet, lifestyle, over the counter medication and alternative treatments such as acupuncture; and 2) Chronic gastro-intestinal conditions that have potentially serious implications for health and usually require medical supervision and intervention, alongside dietary changes and supportive therapies such as acupuncture.
The common pattterns of digestive disorders in TCM
According to Chinese medicine, the common patterns associated with acupuncture for digestive problems are:
- Spleen deficiency symptoms may be felt as fatigue, loss of appetite, bloating or loose stool.
- Phlegm-damp accumulation symptoms are abdominal fullness, gas, weight gain, heavy feeling in body.
- Liver Qi stagnation can be due to your emotional state and current stress factors. Symptoms may be epigastric distention, rib side pain, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, frequent sighing and neck/ shoulder tension.
- Food stagnation is related to overeating, fullness after meals, bloating, abdominal cramping or constipation.
- Stomach heat is associated with symptoms of acid reflux, belching, foul breath or rapid hunger.
It’s common to experience more than one pattern at a time and many other patterns exist then the few listed above.
How does acupuncture treatment help?
Using acupuncture for digestive problems works by nourishing related organs, reducing inflammation of the stomach and pancreas and improving digestive functions. During a treatment, the practitioner will identify certain acupuncture points on the body, typically those that speed up metabolism, increase gastrointestinal muscle contraction and relaxation, reduce gastric acid secretion, regulate small and large intestine function, and restores stomach acidity to normal levels.
In conjunction with Chinese herbal medicine and stress reduction techniques, acupuncture for digestive problems is beneficial in the treatment of general gastrointestinal symptoms. Individuals often experience long-term symptomatic relief with acupuncture for digestive problems, as well as decreased stress and improved energy. Acupuncture for digestive problems may integrate recommendations for diet and lifestyle modifications in order to correct dietary imbalances and regulate digestion.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) have specifically reviewed, analysed and reported upon the valuable and comparable support and relief acupuncture provides for common gastroenterological symptoms across many disorders(1).
For example, epigastric pain – a common symptom experienced in stomach disorders such as peptic ulcer, acute and chronic gastritis and gastric spasm. Acupuncture provides satisfactory relief, in fact ‘better ’relief than injections using morphine and atropine(1). For gastric spasm, acupuncture is comparable to the drug Domperidone(1). Nausea and vomiting which may present in generalised conditions such as morning sickness, postoperative vomiting and nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy, is relieved by receiving acupuncture specifically at point PC6 by having an ‘antiemetic’ effect. Consistent results across several clinical trials involving over 2000 patients support this completely(1). Irritable Colon syndrome / Irritable bowel syndrome and chronic ulcerative colitis shows’ that acupuncture is an alternative therapeutic measure for people to undertake(1).
What common digestive disorders are helped in our clinic?
- Bloating/Nausea/Vomiting/Reflux
- Diarrhea/Constipation/ Abdominal Pain
- IBS/Gastritis/Crohn’s Disease
- Have a consultation with an experienced Chinese medicine doctor. We can help you find out the cause of the imbalance with traditional Chinese medicine methods including pulse and tongue checkup and then a traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis will be provided.
- We investigate the underlying causes, deficiencies and imbalances in our pain management consultation, and address your overall physical, emotional and mental wellbeing.
- We will set up a specific treatment plan (which may include acupuncture, cupping or herbal medicine) to enhance the effectiveness of pain management.
- We will provide you with suggestions of diet, lifestyle, exercise, stress management and general wellbeing.
1.www.tcm.health-info.org/WHO-treatment-list.htm – Acupuncture: Review and Analysis of Reports on Controlled Clinical Trials.