Acupuncture for Constipation
Many people suffer chronically from constipation. According to Chinese medicine, a healthy person needs to have at least one bowel movement a day. Constipation is typically defined as less than one bowel movement a day, difficulty passing a stool or dryness or pain. Many people have “gotten used” to constipation or poor bowel function, but constipation has a significant meaning as far as our health goes. Treating constipation naturally is an excellent way to treat the issue from the source and improve overall health.
Apart from the physical discomfort that constipation creates, the waste matter that the body naturally produces is not eliminated. Instead, toxins and unnecessary substances stay in the colon and are reabsorbed back into the bloodstream.
The phenomenon of constipation is aggravated in many cases after taking a constipation remedy or natural laxatives. It seems at first that these substances solve the problem, but after prolonged use, they can result in a lazy bowel syndrome, which is where the bowel does not create peristalsis.
Peristalsis is the healthy movement of the digestive tract muscles’ contraction, which creates the intestines’ action toward the rectum. When the cause of the constipation is a lazy bowel syndrome, it makes for more difficult healing.
This article will provide you with the tools to choose the best, natural treatment for your constipation. If you suffer from constipation and you are sick of using laxatives and having pain and discomfort, this is the best article for you.
Table of Contents
What is Constipation?
Constipation is a condition of defecation scarcity or difficulty in passing a stool. Western medicine defines constipation when the patient reports less than three discharges per week. According to Chinese medicine, regular bowel movements are 1-2 per day. Therefore, to lead a healthy life, a person should typically have a bowel movement once a day.
Often patients come to me for alternative medicine with various complaints like migraines, obesity, skin problems and more. When discussing, it turns out they have constipation. I often explain to them that healing cannot be complete without addressing constipation first.
Think, what happens to a kitchen sink when it is clogged, and all the food leftovers stay in it with the water? What happens the next day? What happens two days later? And after a week? The matter starts to putrify, leading to other problems. This is what happens in the digestive tract during constipation. The body absorbs toxins from the excrement, which causes many side effects in the body.
Studies found a direct link between antigens and toxins secreted from the bowel during constipation and illness development. These include diabetes, meningitis, acute muscle weakness, thyroid gland disease, ulcerative colitis and other diseases.
Effective Methods for Constipation in Alternative Medicine
Alternative medicine provides very effective ways of treating constipation naturally. Natural treatment for constipation is good in the acute condition that includes an immediate improvement in defecation, immediate relief of pain and reducing mental stress.
Besides and equally important, natural constipation treatment is also effective in treating chronic constipation: to strengthen and balance the bowel, improve peristalsis, treat the various components of the digestive system and attend to the emotional and mental condition leads to constipation. First, it is necessary to diagnose what the cause of the constipation is.
Possible Causes of Constipation:
- Poor nutrition
- Medication
- Insufficient hydration
- Inactivity / Sedentary lifestyle
- Emotional or mental cause (read more below)
- Energetic imbalance
- A disease in other organs besides the bowels
Several methods will give better results in treating constipation. In many cases, it is recommended to combine two ways or more to maximize results. We will review the primary methods for constipation therapy in alternative medicine.
Acupuncture to Treat Constipation
Acupuncture is most effective for constipation treatment. The results are sometimes immediate, and the impact is significant in the long run. It is recommended to go through at least eight acupuncture sessions and follow up with maintenance treatment if needed. Acupuncture stimulates the body’s energy channels, helping to moisten the colon. It also improves peristalsis and opens excrement congestion in the colon. In extreme cases of lazy bowel, it is possible to use special acupuncture techniques or electro acupuncture. Electroacupuncture is the electric stimulation of the muscles to improve bowel movement. Sometimes during the acupuncture treatment for constipation, we can start hearing bowel sounds indicating peristalsis’ return.
The Diagnosis of Constipation in Chinese Medicine
A great deal of importance is given in Chinese medicine to correctly diagnose the problem’s source and treat the root cause. A Chinese medicine diagnosis includes assessing the tongue, reading the pulse and asking questions.
The inner source of constipation, according to Chinese medicine, can differ from one person to another.
Different Cause for Constipation in Acupuncture:
- Dryness in the colon
- Excess of heat in the colon
- Qi deficiency in the colon
- However, some causes are not directly connected to the Colon.
- Lung weakness that causes constipation
- Qi deficiency of the spleen
- Blood deficiency of the Liver
- Yin deficiency (liquids) in the kidneys
- Stagnation of QI of the liver and more
The diagnosis will determine the acupuncture points, the medicinal herbs and nutrition administered to the person. In Chinese medicine, we understand there is no single treatment that is good to treat all the problem sources. It is different for every individual depending on their constitution and condition. The treatment that helps the one might not help the other or even aggravate his or her situation. This means that treating the source that created the constipation is not a laxative that only treats the symptoms.
The medicinal herbs used in Chinese medicine, which are given after diagnosis, are herbs that would not cause damage to the colon. Laxative herbs bought in pharmacies, even natural ones, might cause damage in the long run. This can include lazy bowel (a loss of peristalsis), so they need to be used cautiously.
Case study for Constipation Treatment with Acupuncture
Katy, 30 years old, came to me with a complaint about constipation. She was only having one bowel movement a week and had been experiencing weight gain. Apart from these phenomena, Katy suffered from headaches. Katy described herself as tense and nervous; she said she had constipation for several years and that she recently was trying to refrain from taking laxatives.
She saw through that she was in some way dependent on laxatives, as without taking them, she was barely was able to pass a stool. Katy decided to seek the help of Chinese medicine after a friend of hers recommended me to her.
Katy received Balance Method Acupuncture twice a week and took Chinese medicinal herbs for constipation to remove the heat and dryness from the colon. This helped to lessen her lazy bowel condition. Later on, Katy received nutritional recommendations according to the diagnosis, which included drinking lots of water.
Three weeks later, she started seeing a change in defecation frequency to twice a week. The therapy lasted for another few weeks, during which Katy came to a state of having a bowel movement almost every day. The headaches became less and less, and Katy reported a better mood, a feeling of ease and, of course, weight loss.
Recall Healing for Constipation
In Recall Healing, we work on the emotional source in the subconscious that causes constipation. This is an excellent way to treat constipation naturally and is non-invasive. Recall Healing treatment for constipation is done through conversation. A treatment lasts about an hour and a half, and usually, it takes between 3-5 sessions for healing.
The emotional sources of constipation can be many, and we will provide a few examples here. Still, it is important to understand that to cure constipation’s emotional sources using the Recall Healing method. We need to find the exact causes and how they personally manifest in the person’s life.
The factors that created the disease may be found in the person’s life in his early childhood and genetic lineage. So merely reading the biological conflict is not enough to penetrate the subconscious and bring about healing.
Emotional Conflicts Linked to Constipation
• Conflict in marking my place, my territory. The reason for that is that in nature, excrement is used to mark the territory of the animals.
• Identity- The rectum area is also linked to identity. This is the place where “I” can sit, live, reside, discharge.
• Letting go – Constipation can also be related to an inability to let go of the past, to let go of the dead or experiences that happened to the person.
Every person will live such experiences during his life and might experience some of the conflicts mentioned here, or others linked to constipation without having the disease. The disease is caused when the conflicts are too tricky or prolonged, and the person does not find a solution. According to Recall Healing, when a person does not find a solution to a biological conflict, the brain suppresses the conflict to the subconscious and the body and creates an illness.
In Recall Healing therapy for constipation, we bring the subconscious up into the consciousness of the person. When the person’s consciousness is precisely directed to the right places through conversation, it resolves the conflict that existed in the past and releases the body of the need to hold on to it. In many cases, the release comes soon, and the person will experience a change in bowel movement.
Particularly in chronic conditions, where there is already more severe damage to the body’s balance, it is recommended to combine the Recall Healing treatment with acupuncture and nutritional recommendations. Even though Recall Healing treatment for constipation is very effective, it is not for everyone. Recall Healing treatment is for people who agree to touch-sensitive places and to open into their past.
Case study of Recall Healing for Constipation
Samantha, 50 years old, arrived at my clinic after suffering from ongoing bouts of constipation during the past four years. Over the last year, the condition has become worse. Samantha uses nutritional fibres and various remedies with no significant improvement. Sometimes she has to use an enema to discharge.
Samantha was asked to fill out a special questionnaire for a Recall Healing treatment before coming in. Following the questionnaire, it turned out that when Samantha was 45, her mother died after a prolonged illness. Samantha still seemed emotional when talking about her mother. She described the six months that her mother was dying in the hospital as the worst time in her life.
Samantha is an only child, and she visited her mother as best as she could when she was in the hospital and later resigned from her job to support her. Despite that, she still experiences guilt that she did not do enough and didn’t suggest her mother’s alternative treatment methods.
Recall Healing subconscious conflict.
According to Recall Healing, one of the causes of constipation is the inability to let go of things you lost or people dear to you. Samantha said she took items from her mother’s house to her house and often wore her jewelry. Samantha has gone through a unique emotional process of letting go of her mother and a small number of acupuncture sessions to treat her lazy bowel syndrome, following all the laxatives she has taken over the past years. After a few weeks, her bowel movement returned to once a day.
Nutrition for Treating Constipation naturally.
Naturopathy and nutritional advice as constipation treatments are very important. Many patients say that nutrition has both a positive and a negative effect on constipation in many cases. In addition to nutrition, extensive hydration also helps constipation in many cases. Naturopathy treatment for constipation is effective because of the direct connection between nutrition and medicinal herbs. Food is essential for the healing of constipation and is also necessary for prevention.
Many people find it challenging to make sure their nutrition is right constantly. It is recommended to combine with medicinal herbs, acupuncture or any of the methods mentioned here. When the digestive system returns to balance, we can “cheat” every once in a while and eat things that are a bit hard on the digestive system without experiencing constipation.
In Naturopathy treatment, apart from nutritional advice, it is also possible to get minerals and vitamin supplements to account for body deficiencies due to the ongoing absorption problems.
Reflexology to Treat Constipation
Another good method for treating constipation naturally is reflexology. Reflexology involves working on the feet and is very effective in balancing the bowel and renewing peristalsis. Sometimes bowel movements can be felt by the patient during the treatment. In reflexology, we can connect the bowel area to the leg and other areas that affect constipation, such as the liver, stomach, kidneys, etc. Reflexology treatment is relatively pleasant. However, the impact of the treatment is not always as useful as acupuncture therapy. Therefore, it is recommended to combine reflexology with one of the other methods.
Abdominal Massage for Constipation
Sometimes for people who suffer from constipation, we will find something that resembles hard lumps in the bowel, which indicates excrement stagnation. In an acute condition, it is a phenomenon that can cause bowel obstruction and medical emergency.
Through touch techniques such as Tui an, which is part of Chinese medicine, shiatsu or medical massage, we can do bowel massage that improves the success of each of the constipation treatments presented here. If we are dealing with constipated babies, sometimes a massage done by the mother to the baby is sufficient. With adults, it is advisable to combine the massage with one of the methods mentioned above.
Warning! Laxatives!
In many cases, people would arrive at the clinic with a history of taking laxative remedies for years as constipation treatment or as an attempt to lose weight. This phenomenon, as mentioned, damages the bowel muscles and the peristalsis of the bowel.
Today there are many products on the market, some through prescription and some in the various pharmacy chains. Products such as Senna and Aloe Vera, various powders, different kinds of tea, etc., are considered natural. These products can empty the bowel and help in the short run but cause enormous damage in the long run. The bowel gets used to not working at full power due to the activity of those substances. This causes a condition of lazy bowel to develop.
The bowel will stop creating peristalsis – contracting the bowel muscles, making the bowel’s excrement movement. A lazy bowel is a bowel whose muscles have degenerated. It is much harder to treat a patient whose bowel is lazy, and so it is highly recommended not to take laxatives except for single-use on occasions unnecessarily. The same rule says about enemas that are meant to empty the bowel. If you are having a reoccurring issue with constipation, you should seek further professional help.
Despite what is said, it is possible to treat conditions of lazy bowel and constipation. Treating constipation naturally with alternative medicine and methods can be very effective. Recovery may take a bit longer than without the condition.
Weight Loss and Constipation
A woman who wishes to lose weight must get her bowel activity back to normal without using laxatives. Also, bowel diarrhea does not result in weight loss. To lose weight through diarrhea – does not really work in the long run. Diarrhea causes a loss of important minerals and fluid from the body and creates a dysfunction of the digestive system that eventually leads to weight gain. For weight loss, there are treatments in alternative medicine that do not unnecessarily damage the body.
Natural Constipation Tips:
- Consuming nutritional fibres – oatmeal, bran flakes, brown rice, lentils, plums, citruses, okra, cabbage, carrot and beet.
- Avoid overeating. Also, limit intake of bananas; they may cause constipation.
- It is important to know that fibres might aggravate a bloated stomach without treatment in an acute condition of constipation.
- Good hydration – drink lots of water. At least 2 litres a day. Especially at the beginning of the day to create a bowel movement. Any other drink that is not water does not count. Drinking warm water can be particularly effective in stimulation the bowels.
- Physical activity – jumping on a trampoline, yoga, running, doing athletic activity promotes natural bowel movements.
- Massage – try to give yourself a lower abdomen or a massage around the umbilicus in a big clockwise movement.
- Eating flax seeds – to eat freshly ground flax seeds. Possibly with a glass of water or on a fresh salad.
- Prunes – can be effective in promoting bowel movement.
- Morning bowel movement – Try to pass first thing in the morning – the colon’s time, according to Chinese medicine, is between 5 am -7 am. So this is the recommended time according to Chinese medicine for defecation, but a little bit later is also fine.
Summary
It is important to note that effectively treating constipation naturally with alternative medicine treats the source that created it. Simply treating the symptoms to relieve pains and sensitivities is not holistic. It is not just about using “laxatives.” The idea is to find the imbalance in the body and treat it. Conditions that don’t seem to be directly related to constipation are often resolved when treated in such a way. Patients see reductions in headaches, weight gain, fatigue, stress, sleep problems and more…
There is no need to suffer! There is hope, and treatment is advisable. The longer the condition lasts, the more it remains in the body. So better early than later.
After reading this article, we hope you know more about the natural treatment for constipation and other digestive problems. We wish you a quick recovery, easy discharges and a beautiful, healthy life.
