IBS is a huge problem for many people. It’s very disruptive and can have a really negative impact on a person’s life. Always having to know where the nearest toilet is or be extra careful about what you are eating is exhausting as are the symptoms themselves, which can cause daily pain and discomfort.
Luckily there are things you can do to help treat and improve your symptoms naturally…
- Abdominal massage. This can make a huge difference to people suffering with IBS. The massage helps work on the symptoms and causes of IBS to help relieve the issues. Massaging releases tension and pressure around the bowel allowing better circulation and absorption which is crucial for good digestion. For those where stress seems to be a factor in their IBS this is particularly important as it’s the tension the stress adds that has a triggering effect on symptoms. Digestion is all about good flow and good absorption – IBS hurts both of these and abdominal massage really helps them. Abdominal massage also helps to heal any damaged area of the bowel and reduce inflammation. If your bowel is inflamed, damaged or blocked it cannot digest or absorb properly, which will cause difficult digestive symptoms. Massage helps to clear any blockages, boost circulation and stretches out the bowel where inflammation or other issues may have pinched it together. This can drastically reduce inflammation and improve healing ability, improving symptoms. You can also learn the massage in a session. It’s a great massage to do at home so you can work on symptoms any time they appear and speed up your healing process. Click here to book a session.
- Identify and limit trigger foods. Normally with IBS there will be a food, food group or a few foods that are tougher to digest and can trigger symptoms or increase their severity. Figuring out what these are and cutting them down or out can really help symptoms or stop things getting worse. The most common antagonists are sugar, gluten, dairy and processed foods. Sulphites, that are used as a meat preservative, are also an increasingly common problem too. They are used in more and more foods (pork products are most common), so foods that you were fine with before may now trigger issues. Try stopping one of these groups for a couple of weeks and see how you feel.
- Reducing stress. Easier said than done but anything you can do to improve stress will likely help your symptoms. Exercise, healthy diet, mediation and regularly getting outdoors are all things shown to help stress. These are things you can control even if the source of your stress isn’t as easy to deal with. Make sure you’re taking some time to look after yourself.
- Increasing exercise. We are designed to be moving and inactivity really does impact your digestion. Even just getting out for a little walk or doing some yoga at home can help things improve. Digestion works by peristalsis which is all linked to muscles. The more you get those muscles moving, the better your digestion can work.
- Reduce inflammation. Turmeric is one of the best best natural anti-inflammatories you can have. Turmeric helps reduce inflammation which really helps your body’s ability to heal, digest and absorb nutrients more effectively. You can add it to food or take it as a tea or supplement. For more information on reducing inflammation this blog gives more in depth tips.
For more advice and tailored help on what you can do to improve your IBS symptoms why not book an abdominal massage appointment today by clicking here.
Treatments available in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire and Oxford, Oxfordshire.
Accessible from Bedford, Biggleswade, Ampthill, Cambridge, Huntingdon, St Neots,
Milton Keynes, Woburn, Hitchin, Letchworth, Stevenage, Royston, Cambridgeshire,
Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Luton, Hemel Hempstead, St Albans, Hatfield,
Welwyn, Harpenden, Leighton Buzzard, Aylesbury
Oxford, Bicester, Banbury, Witney, Abingdon, Didcot, Wantage, Newbury,
Swindon, Reading, Thatcham, Wallingford, Wheatley, Thame, Lambourn, Burford,
Chipping Norton, Cotswolds, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire,
Gloucestershire, Hampshire.