Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common conditions we see in our clinic and our anecdotal evidence suggests promising results using acupuncture, CM diet therapy, and Chinese herbal medicine.
A recent systematic review by Bahrami and colleagues (2016) concluded that evidence was promising for the use of various herbal remedies to relieve the symptoms of IBS. Researchers also found that a formula of herbs appeared to work better than the use of a single herb.
Earlier in Australia, Bensoussan and colleagues (1998) conducted a randomised clinical trial on 116 patients with IBS. Clinically and statistically improved outcomes for the treatment group receiving Chinese herbal medicine were observed compared to the non-treatment group. Once intervention had stopped those participants who received a tailored CM herbal formula were found to have more stable IBS symptoms compared to those who had a standardised CM herbal formula.