Irritable Bowel Syndrome is one of the leading causes of unexplained digestive discomfort brought forth to physicians. Irritable bowel can be cause constipation, diarrhea or mixed types.
It is a disorder of the motility as well as the sensitivity of the nerves of the intestine. Although normal functioning is impaired, there are however no physical not structural abnormalities that can be found. Endoscopes, a colonoscopy and other imaging studies, biopsies, or blood tests are all within normal range. There is a strong psychological/emotional component to the symptoms of IBS sepcifically tied to the enteric nervous system (the nervous system of the digestive tract) Thus, IBS is identified by the characteristics of the symptoms and a detailed history and lifestyle factors are taken into consideration once a proper lab/imaging work up has been completed.
