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THURSDAY, Aug. 2 (HealthScoutNews) -- Meditation may relieve the pain of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) as well as medication does, new research suggests.
That's why some doctors now are ordering it for patients with the painful gastrointestinal disorder, which is characterized by severe bouts of either diarrhea or constipation, gas, pain and bloating. Usually, laxatives or anti-diarrheal medication are prescribed.
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The new research shows that two doses of meditation a day may help control IBS symptoms for some time.
"Our studies showed that when practiced regularly, one of the simplest forms of meditation and relaxation was able to improve symptoms and make a difference in how well IBS patients were able to cope with this disorder in their lives," says Edward Blanchard, director of the Center for Stress and Anxiety Disorders at the State University of New York at Albany.
One IBS specialist welcomes the good news, but cautions against the notion that the disorder is all in the patient's head.
"It has taken many years to establish that IBS is a physiological and not a psychological disorder. And while it is good to have as many tools as possible to help patients cope with their symptoms, it's equally important to recognize that relaxation alone is not going to cure patients with IBS," says Dr. Lucinda Harris, an assistant professor of gastroenterology at Weill-Cornell Medical College.
Still, Blanchard says patients in his study saw significant results.
"A follow-up of 24 months showed that even those patients who did not practice the relaxation exercises as diligently as when they were in the study continued to experience some symptom relief they did not have before," he says.
While no one is certain why relaxation plays a role in treating IBS, one theory suggests our "gut" has a nervous system all its own.
"It's called the enteric nervous system, and like the central nervous system in the brain, it also has receptors for a variety of biochemicals, including those that are linked to the stress response," says Harris.
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