Psychophysiological Effects of Occupational Therapy in Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome

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Symptoms of Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are often aggravated by stress, which alters colonic motility and visceral perception. We reported the possibility of improving IBS pathophysiology by passive abdominal muscle stretching as indicated by chromogranin A (CgA), a biochemical index of the activity of the sympathetic/adrenomedullary system. Although the degree to which patient intervention in the areas of exercise, and management of daily activity can improve symptoms of IBS through healthier lifestyle behaviors is unknown. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of intervention to non-patient with IBS on the short and long term outcomes, and the association between physical exercise and symptoms. The present case controlled study was conducted on 30 adult subjects with mild or moderate symptom of IBS who were allocated randomly to either the exercise (intervention) group (n=15) or the wait-listed control group (n=15). Four-week intervention consisted of components : self record, stretch of abdominal muscle, physical exercise of pelvis, and 15 min working. Measurements (symptom-limited daily life performance, psychological status, CgA, heart rate variability and regional cerebral oxy-hemoglobin change) were performed before and after intervention. Spearman rank correlations were used to assess the association between psycho-physiological data and symptom scores. Wilcoxon rank sum tests compared changes in scores versus their baseline values. After the intervention, tendency of improvements were found in symptom-limited performance of daily life and psychological status. The four-week intervention had immediate beneficial effects on physiological variables and some neurological factors in patients with IBS. The findings of this study could be used as a reference for intervention, education, and physical health policies.