IBS and Acupuncture - new positive evidence

Acupuncturists have been treating people who have IBS - Irritable Bowel Syndrome - for many years and most consider acupuncture to be a helpful form of treatment. However the evidence has always been anecdotal.

Now, a randomised controlled trial of 233 patients in the UK, in a primary care setting, indicates that up to ten sessions of acupuncture alongside usual medical care provides an additional benefit to patients over usual care on its own.  Interestingly, in addition, the benefit was sustained over the longer term.  if you want to look at an abstract of the research, click on this link.

When I see patients with IBS, I use a combination of acupuncture and Chinese medical dietary advice, as I have found, over the years, that Chinese medcine is particularly good at discerning which everyday foods and methods of food preparation are best suited to any one individual, as you can see from my website Acupuncture in Bristol and Shaftesbury FAQs.