IBS, REFLUX & GUT HEALTH ACUPUNCTURE IN BONDI JUNCTION SYDNEY

When our digestion is working smoothly, we barely even think about it, but when it goes wrong, it can be hard to think about anything else. There are a variety of ways our digestion can cause issues, such as:

 

• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)

• Constipation

• Diarrhoea

• Reflux

• Bloating

• Nausea

• Difficulties with weight

• Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO)

• Crohn's disease

• Ulcerative colitis

 

Just to name a few.

 

Symptoms can range from mild to severe, requiring hospitalisation in extreme cases. It can really impact your quality of life when you’re not sure how you’re going to react when eating out or travelling. Some people will explore restrictive diets and find themselves stuck in an endless cycle of becoming increasingly reactive and cutting out more foods.

 

Certain medications and treatment of specific parasitic or bacterial issues can be an important part of getting relief, but many will feel like they’ve tried it all and yet are still stuck in a cycle of chronic digestive problems. Ideally it would be great to not just symptom manage or figure out what long list of foods to avoid, but to actually find lasting change that gives you your life back.

 

How do we use acupuncture for IBS, reflux & digestion?

 

Digestion plays a central role in health from a Chinese medicine perspective. Our digestion is responsible for breaking down and providing essential nutrients and building blocks required for life, and so if this is compromised, it can affect all other areas of our health. There is an increasing amount of research into the importance of the gut microbiome that supports this, however, there is an important distinction between how modern medicine and Chinese medicine interpret this and approach treatment.

 

Modern medicine will tend to look at wiping out “bad” microbes with antibacterial or antiparasitic agents, and increase “good” microbes with things like probiotics. While this can be a necessary and useful approach in certain situations, Chinese medicine instead looks at our gut like an ecosystem that has been neglected and needs to be supported in the right way. When there are too many “bad” microbes and not enough “good” ones, it’s because the internal environment has been conducive to this imbalance. Your acupuncturist’s job is to try to help your body restore an internal environment that nurtures healthy digestive function again.

 

At Acupuncture Grove in Bondi Junction Sydney, we use acupuncture for IBS, reflux and digestion tailored specifically to you. Typically if it’s going to be helpful for you, we will know very early on within the first 4-6 treatments (often earlier). That doesn’t mean that it will be completely better in that time, usually chronic conditions will take some time to unravel and may need ongoing maintenance, but you should feel some early signs of relief or improvement from the acupuncture if it’s going to help. Once we know how you’re responding to the acupuncture, we’ll then work out a treatment plan for you. The ultimate goal would be to get you to a place where you don’t need acupuncture anymore, or it’s just something you do for maintenance.

 

Chinese herbal medicine can also be a very useful adjunct when working with digestion. This allows us to keep the treatment going daily and directly interfaces with the gut. It’s the same idea as acupuncture, we use it for a period to help address certain imbalances, but as you improve, we aim to get to a point where it’s no longer necessary. If it’s something that we feel will help you along, we’ll discuss it as part of the treatment plan. 

 

If you would like to try acupuncture for IBS, reflux or digestion with Acupuncture Grove in Sydney’s Bondi Junction, please book online here or contact us with any questions.