A Randomized Trial Comparing Standard Treatment and Stress-Relieving Therapies to Improve Irritable Bowel Syndrome Symptoms

Background: Abdominal pain is stressful, accounting for a large proportion of emergency and primary care visits. Clinical workups for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are often without abnormal findings and symptoms can be severe, diminishing patients' IBS-related quality of life (IBS-QOL). Purpose: The efficacy of stress-relieving therapies to manage IBS symptoms was explored. Methods: Participants were randomly assigned to standard care or an intervention group (ie, walking, music, and essential oils). The IBS-QOL, gastrointestinal (GI) distress, and general health questionnaires were completed at baseline and 6-week visits. Results: The intervention explained 20% of the variance for IBS-QOL, 19% for GI distress, and 27% for general health, after controlling for baseline scores. IBS-QOL and general health were improved, with GI distress minimized for the walking and essential oils groups. Conclusions: Adding walking and essential oils to an established IBS treatment regimen can positively impact health and well-being.