Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

Clinical Application:
Deng treated 49 cases of irritable bowel syndrome with a modification of this formula. The modified formula consisted of Bai Zhu, Bai Shao, Chen Pi, Fang Feng, Fu Ling, Yi Yi Ren, and Gan Cao. One dose of the formula in water decoction was administered three times a day before meals, and one unit of treatment called for three doses. The results: after 1-6 units of treatment, 37 cases significantly improved, 11 improved, and 1 did not respond to the treatment, with a total effective rate of 97.2%.(2)

Similarly, Liu used a modification of this formula in treating 32 cases of IBS. Here the formula was modified to include Chen Pi, Fo Shou, Bai Shao, Bai Zhu, Fang Feng, Mu Xiang, and Gan Cao. One dose of the formula was administered daily, and one unit of treatment called for seven doses. The results: after two consecutive units of treatment, 19 cases were resolved, 11 improved, and 2 did not respond to the treatment, with a total effective rate of 93.75%.(3)

Xue treated 14 cases of IBS with a combination of acupuncture and massage. The procedure was as follows: Acupuncture treatment was applied daily at the acupoints Zusanli (St 36) and Sanyinjiao (Sp 6) by the lifting-thrusting-twisting-twirling method, with the needles retained for 20 minutes after insertion. Six sessions constituted one unit of treatment. In addition, with the patient lying on their back and the knees bent, massage was applied at the acupoints Zhongwan (Ren 12), Qihai (Ren 6), and Guanyuan (Ren 4) by pushing and kneading maneuvers, at the bilateral acupoint Tianshu (St 25) by progressively more forceful thumbing, and around the navel by palm-rubbing; then, with the patient sitting upright, massage was applied at the acupoints Pishu (B 20), Dachangshu (B 25), Shenshu (B 23), and Mingmen (Du 4) by pushing and pressing. Each daily massage session lasted 20 minutes. The results: after 1-3 units of treatment, all 14 cases were recovered. A follow-up on 10 patients conducted 2-5 years after the treatment found no relapses in six patients.(9)

Massage
Xu treated 68 cases of IBS with a combination of massage and herbal therapy. The acupoints Hegu (LI 4) and Guanyuan (Ren 4) received massage treatment three times a day, one hour before a meal: the acupoint Hegu was first pressed with a thumb for about half a minute to initiate the treatment, and then kneaded 100 times clockwise; the acupoint Guanyuan was first pressed with a thumb to initiate the treatment, and then gently palm-kneaded 50 times clockwise, and 50 times counter-clockwise. The herbal therapy used a formula called Bu Pi Fang (spleen-invigorating decoction), which consisted of Dang Shen, Fu Ling, Bai Zhu, Rou Dou Kou, Bai Shao, Shan Yao, Wu Zhu Yu, and Zhi Gan Cao. One dose of the formula in water decoction was administered daily at three takings just before the massage sessions. One unit of treatment lasted ten days. A comparison group of 84 cases was treated with various Western medications (e.g., vitamin B, diazepam, etc.) The results: of the treatment group, 36 cases were recovered, 27 improved, and 5 did not respond to the treatment, with a total effective rate of 92.6%; in comparison, the corresponding numbers for the comparison group were 11, 32, 41, and 51.2%, respectively.(10)

Other Treatments
Lu treated 48 cases of IBS with auricular pressure and millimeter wave therapies. The procedure of the auricular pressure therapy: three times a day, each time for a duration of five minutes, a vicaria seed was pressed against the acupoint Shenmen and points related to the liver, spleen, and kidney, to gain a feeling of warmth, swelling, and slight pain; the bilateral points were alternated in receiving the treatment, and 10 sessions constituted one unit of treatment. The procedure of the millimeter wave therapy: once a day, each of the acupoints Daheng and Qihai were treated with millimeter wave for 10 minutes; ten sessions constituted one unit of treatment. The results: 34 cases were recovered, 7 significantly improved, 5 improved, and 2 did not respond to the treatment, with a total effective rate of 95.8%.(11)