Transforming Gut Health with Osteopathic Manual Therapy: Overcoming IBS Naturally

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a chronic, functional disorder of the digestive system. People with IBS can experience several unpleasant symptoms, including cramping, constipation, bloating, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. It is not uncommon for people with IBS to also experience bouts of anxiety and depression.

Research has not confirmed an exact cause of IBS, but has identified several factors that may contribute, including childhood trauma, stress, genetics, bacterial or viral infections, or changes in a person’s microbiome.

Treatments

There is no cure for IBS. Treatment focuses on identifying triggers to reduce the frequency of flare-ups and managing symptoms when they do arise.

Dietary modifications are a must. Working with a nutritionist can help you determine which foods are triggers and need to be eliminated and which foods can help restore balance to your microbiome.

Daily activity, relaxation techniques, and improving sleep habits are also highly encouraged. Depending on your symptoms and their severity, your provider may also recommend prescription medications, over-the-counter medications, or supplements.

Outside of allopathic (traditional western) medicine, visceral manipulation, a type of osteopathic manual therapy (OMT), is another effective therapy used by both physicians and physical therapists to treat IBS and other gut disorders.

To understand how a manual therapy can treat a disorder of the digestive system, one should first understand one of the basic principles of OMT: structure and function are reciprocally interrelated. This means that when there are structural imbalances within one of the body systems, the proper functioning of other body systems is limited.

Providers trained in osteopathic manual therapy use their hands and gentle touch to locate these structural imbalances and once identified, manual therapies can assist the patient in recovering.

Visceral manipulation is an organ-specific massage technique that helps your internal organs (visceral organs) move smoothly and naturally.

How OMT & Visceral Manipulation Improves Symptoms of IBS and Other Digestive Disorders

The digestive system is composed of the GI tract (mouth, pharynx, large and small intestines, esophagus, and anal canal) and the biliary system (liver, gallbladder, pancreas, and bile ducts), and relies on the smooth muscles of the muscular system to push food and liquid through the GI tract. During this process important nutrients are broken down and absorbed while waste is eliminated. A healthy muscular system is crucial to maintain the motility (natural movement) and function of digestive system’s visceral organs.

Motility becomes restricted when the connective tissue around the organs become inflamed. This can be a result of infections, trauma, poor diet, surgical scar tissue, toxins, or stress. As a result, functional and structural imbalances occur and manifest as symptoms. In the case of IBS, they can manifest as pain, gas, bloating, constipation, or any of the other symptoms mentioned above.

First, a manual assessment is done to determine if restrictions are the cause of your symptoms. If so, visceral manipulation techniques are then used to improve the function of the organ by relaxing smooth muscle tissue (improving gut motility), increasing blood flow (promoting healing), and improving lymphatic drainage (reducing swelling).

Our bodies are in constant motion, but we don’t often think about internal motion and what happens when our internal organs lose their motility. With visceral disorders, there is always a structural component. OMT can be a serious help in treating IBS as well as other digestive disorders such as colitis, GERD, irritable bowel disease, etc.

Fundamental health relies on all body systems working harmoniously. Visceral manipulation is one of many tools we use at the Kaplan Center to maintain the internal harmony of the body. Please give us a call at 703-532-4892 if you have IBS or other chronic pain symptoms that have not responded well to traditional treatments.