Does acupuncture work for ibs?

Maybe helpful: Ibs is very difficult to treat and stress/emotions can play a major role. Spasms, bloating, diarrhea and/or constipation can occur. There are no magic pills to cure ibs. Stress reduction, and diet modification (increasing fiber and avoiding triggers) are often the best treatment options, but accupuncture by a trained professional can be helpful in many cases too. Good luck.

Acupuncture?: Acupuncture can increase endorphine and help with many diseases and pain symptoms , and it can be helpful for ibs, but is not a cure for evey thing.

It Works!!!: I’ve been in medicine for 30 yrs and using various forms of acupuncture for 15 yrs. Acupuncture is not what you thinks it is! it is a physical therapy that is on a spectrum beginning with self care/massage then to deep “needling” as per janet g. Travell, md. I stumbling upon her textbooks on the subject of complex pain issues. Her protocols can treat ibs. See my other answers.

Yes: Acupuncture can be an effective adjunctive treatment for ibs.

Acup, Hypnosis & IBS: Hua Tuo Jia Ji points which run along the spine.and acupuncture in general can help. Check autonomic dysfunction due to spinal misalignment. Japanese acupuncture tends to be extremely mild, and comfortable. There was a recent IBS study using hypnosis yielding a 95% success rate at Mayo Clinic. Some utilize acupuncture & hypnosis simultaneously.

Proven vs unproven: By definition, "alternative" is different than modern western medicine. Generally any drug, herb, treatment, or procedure that stands up to rigorous scientific scrutiny is included in modern medicine. The problem is that many alternative practices, herbs etc do not stand up to scientific scrutiny and cannot be shown to work. Still, pain is different. Perception. it may work - mind over matter.