What is IBS and why is it so common?

The way that our lives have been affected over the last 27 months during and after the pandemic has played havoc with our levels of stress and anxiety. When we become stressed or anxious this can often have a direct effect on our digestive system leaving us with an irregular pattern. This may be a new experience to some of us and can affect our lives in many ways. Bearing in mind that people talking about their ‘daily habits’ is not the norm and often frowned upon. I can only imagine that there are literally dozens of people who we encounter in our daily lives who could benefit from help with IBS.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a collection of symptoms and is the commonest condition affecting digestive health. It is a problem of bowel function rather than structure and usually there is nothing abnormal to be seen that is wrong during medical investigations.

It is described as “derailing of the brain - gut axis” (Enders, 2017)

Both diarrhoea and constipation are common conditions associated with IBS, constipation being more common especially amongst women.

I am focusing on IBS with constipation as it is more common in the female population and these people are more likely to already be attending a yoga class and have already felt the benefits to both their body and mind of this wonderful practice.

A few years ago I had around a 3 month issue of IBS myself which was diarrhoea prevalent. I had several investigations including an endoscopy and a gastroscopy and nothing untoward was found. Eventually my symptoms disappeared and I was no longer troubled. So even after a relatively short period of discomfort I know first hand how difficult general day to day life can become. In addition, so many students who complete health forms for my general yoga classes list IBS as something they are troubled with. I know that this sort of work will offer both support, together with relief to many people.

A medical viewpoint

There has to be 12 weeks - (not necessarily consecutive) out of a 12 month period where there is abdominal discomfort, pain or disturbed bowel motions. It is associated with abnormal, more or less frequent bowel movements and muscular spasms where pain and discomfort is felt. Bowel movements (peristalsis) are irregular which often lead to symptoms such as bloating, wind, diarrhoea, constipation and sometimes pain in the visceral organs. Pain can also be caused due to a build up of gas.

Waves of constriction and relaxation become separated and random parts of the bowel may go into cramp, if these waves speed up then diarrhoea occurs.

The yogic and Ayurvedic viewpoint

IBS is due to an imbalance of both vata and pitta, vata pushes the hot and sharp liquid which is pitta qualities from their seat in the small intestine into the colon where pitta disrupts the elimination.

The Ayurveda dis- ease state of Grahani where low jathara (stomach) agni leads to changes in quality of stool. There’s a weakness in the duodenum- the first 12 inches of the semi colon and the contents are either released too early into the colon with the food therefore being “uncooked” or partially digested or it’s retained for longer periods releasing food that is “overcooked” or over digested.

IBS is a pattern of alternating loose bowels with constipation. There is often a lack of a full, satisfied evacuation of bowel content together with a lack of or no protective mucus around the stool. A significant indication of healthy bowels is when the stool is encased in mucus meaning very little wiping is needed.

A practice that can help reduce stress and anxiety can be extremely beneficial in improving symptoms of IBS.

Yoga Therapy can help with this, why not contact me for more information?