Dr Andy Field is a GP who is also interested in all forms of complementary medicine.

Q My GP has told me that I have irritable bowel syndrome. Can you explain what this is and how I can combat the symptoms ?

AIrritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, is a very common complaint which includes a number of symptoms such as abdominal bloating, cramping or gripping pains, diarrhoea or constipation and excess wind. All these occur in the absence of any detectable abnormality of the bowel and are caused by abnormal uncoordinated contraction of the muscle of the bowel.

The bowel is a hollow muscular tube which relies on smooth regular rhythmic contractions to do its job of moving food along its length in an orderly fashion and allowing its digestion.

If this rhythm goes wrong things like trapped wind, muscle spasm and pain can occur and food can move too fast or too slow through the bowel causing diarrhoea or constipation.

The bowel is very sensitive to stress hormones and some people characteristically have the pattern of expressing their stress and holding tension in the bowels.

The symptoms are real physical symptoms but there is a mind-body link in their causation.

Sufferers of IBS need to focus on two main areas to manage their symptoms: one is diet and the aim is to get on to a high-fibre, low-sugar and low-fat diet.

This can be tricky as some high-fibre foods can produce wind which exacerbates symptoms. Each individual needs to find cereals, fruit and vegetables which suit them and fybogel can help too.

The second area is stress management and relaxation. I think that this is the area that we most often neglect in the modern world as we seem to have more worries and few of us give ourselves enough time to let our bodies relax and heave a sigh of relief on a regular basis.

There are many ways to relax, it's a personal thing. Perhaps the easiest and a favourite of mine is simply lying down on the floor with arms and legs apart and letting the body melt on to the floor as you watch your tummy rise and fall with each breath.

Letting the breathing really lengthen and slow can help you to relax from the tummy outwards and bring real peace. Doing this two or three times a day for five minutes or so can really help us to unwind and take the rest of the day on in a steady and positive way rather than rushing anxiously from one thing to the next with scarcely time to breathe or think.

In these two ways the bowel can slowly re-learn its normal rhythmic co-ordinated pattern and the symptoms can decrease. It can take time to settle down though so persistence is required and careful attention to relaxing.

Further information can be obtained from the IBS Network on 0114 261 1531.

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