Functional relaxation as complementary therapy in irritable bowel syndrome: a randomized, controlled clinical trial

Area of Science:

• Gastroenterology
• Psychosomatic Medicine
• Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Background:

• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a prevalent and debilitating condition often influenced by psychogenic factors.
• While relaxation techniques are commonly suggested for IBS, robust evidence supporting their efficacy is limited.
• This study addresses the need for evidence-based non-pharmacological interventions for IBS management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of functional relaxation (FR) as a therapeutic intervention for patients with IBS.
• To compare FR against enhanced medical care (EMC) in managing IBS symptoms and functional impairment.

Main Methods:

• Eighty IBS patients were randomized into two groups: functional relaxation (FR) or enhanced medical care (EMC).
• Both interventions involved 2 weekly sessions over a 5-week period.
• The primary outcome measure was the impairment-severity score (IS), assessed at baseline, post-treatment, and at 3-month follow-up.

Main Results:

• Functional relaxation (FR) demonstrated significant superiority over enhanced medical care (EMC), with a standardized effect size of 0.85.
• The improvements in psychic and bodily impairment achieved through FR were sustained at the 3-month follow-up.
• FR proved to be an effective intervention for reducing subjective functional impairment in IBS patients.

Conclusions:

• Functional relaxation (FR) training, when added to treatment as usual (TAU), positively impacts subjective functional impairment in IBS.
• FR offers a clinically relevant long-term benefit as a non-pharmacological and complementary therapy for IBS.
• The findings support the integration of FR into comprehensive IBS management strategies.