Complementary Health Approaches for Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)—a chronic disorder that interferes with the normal functions of the colon—is challenging to study because of its varied, non-specific symptoms, episodic nature and the lack of confirmatory diagnostic testing. Although there is emerging evidence suggesting that some complementary health practices may be used for treating IBS, most of the studies have methodological flaws. Systematic reviews evaluating complementary modalities for IBS symptoms have concluded that few large, well-designed studies exist and further research is required to determine whether complementary or integrative health practices are effective for treating IBS.

This issue summarizes the research on commonly used complementary and integrative health approaches for managing symptoms of IBS.