IBS (Irritible Bowel Syndrome) can be an extremely debilitating problem affecting around 15% of the
population of the UK, with symptoms including diarrhoea, pain and bloating.
The condition can seriously affect sufferers' quality of life and finding
treatment can be difficult, leading many doctors to feel they can do little to
help as there are no pharmaceutical treatments available that seem to
effectively treat IBS.
Hypnotherapy and IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)
Because of that, patients will often continue to experience the problem for life
whilst constantly costing the NHS money, a reported £50 million per annum,
with patients only ending their treatment when becoming disenchanted with it.
But over the last 20 years there has been much research into the treatment
and relapse prevention of IBS using Hypnotherapy.
In the UK the instigator of much of this research has been Professor Peter
Whorwell, Professor of Medicine and Gastroenterology in the University of
Manchester's Medical School and Director of the South Manchester
Functional Bowel Service.
Most recently, two hundred and fifty patients who have suffered from IBS for
over two years and had failed to receive benefit from other treatments,
were given twelve one-hour sessions, during which they were given an explanation
of how the gut works and what causes their symptoms.
Positive Results for Hypnotherapy
Patients scored themselves on such issues as presence and severity of IBS
symptoms, quality of life, and level of anxiety and depression. Almost all mentioned that their sense of overall well-being increased
enormously. Any anxiety and depression eased considerably. The only
participants that did not improve particularly well to hypnotherapy were males
with diarrhoea.
This large-scale review confirms the knowledge of the benefits of treating IBS
with Hypnotherapy. Symptoms such as pain and distension, as well as the
level of so-called "disease interference" with life, changed intensely for most
participants, with just three months of weekly Hypnotherapy treatment.
The findings also indicate that treating IBS patients with Hypnotherapy can be
very cost-effective, in particular due to the fact that relief from this notoriously
hard-to-treat condition can be sustainable as improvements are usually
permanent.
"IBS is ideal for treatment with hypnosis, as there is no structural damage to
the body," explained Professor Whorwell. "During the hypnotherapy, sufferers
learn how to influence and gain control of their gut function, and then seem to
be able to change the way the brain modulates their gut activity."
With 78% success from his most recent study Professor Whorwell believes
that hypnotherapy could be an extremely effective treatment for the condition;
and a less expensive alternative to new, costly drugs coming onto the market.
"We've found it to help all the symptoms, whereas some of the drugs available
reduce only a few," he goes on to explain. "As IBS can be a life-long condition
it could clearly be a very valuable option for patients"
Gonsalkorale WM, Houghton LA, Whorwell PJ. Hypnotherapy in irritable bowel syndrome: a large-scale
audit of a clinical service with examination of factors influencing responsiveness.
Am J Gastroenterol,2002;97:954-961
