RESEARCH ON ACUPUNCTURE AND IBS

A Chinese study in 2015 found that both acupuncture and moxibustion had a positive impact in patients diagnosed with irritable bowek syndrome.Benefits were measured in both subjective symptom scores and objective measurement scales.

82 patients were randomly divided into acupuncture and moxibustion groups for treatment and received treatment for four weeks. Both the acupuncture and the moxibustion were applied bilaterally to two acupuncture points, ST25, Tian Shu, which is located on the abdomen, and ST37, Shang Ju Xu, which is on the leg.

The results showed that both treatments significantly improved subjective visual analogue scores for IBS. The acupuncture was found to be more effective in ameliorating constipation and the moxa in ameliorating diarrhoea. Abnormal expression of serotonin and its receptors in colonic mucosal tissue was found to have significantly improved in both groups.

2015; 2015:361786.Epub 2015 Jul 30 ncbi.nim.nih.gov/pubmed/26294923