In response: Kidney function and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

Hi and a big thanks to everyone who’s checked out my blog. I’ve had a great response to my first post from patients, family and friends. With respect to that, I’ve had a number of questions concerning the Kidney’s relation to bowel function, and I’d like to respond before moving onto the next topic.

Before I get into it, I need to clarify that the Kidney of CM is not synonymous with our Western idea of the kidneys. In an anatomical sense, yes, they are one and the same, but as far as function is concerned the Kidneys of CM have a wider scope of influence in the body. In addition to the many physiological functions of the Kidney, there are the energetic functions to consider as well. I’m not going to go any further into that for now, as it would take us away from the topic of this post, except to reiterate that when a CM practitioner refers to Kidney in CM jargon, they are usually referring to the organ network, including the channel and all its interrelated parts. I always use capital letters to differentiate between the CM organs and our Western understanding of these, and when I speak about Kidney in CM terms I use the singular, as is used in CM, and I use the plural kidneys, when speaking in Western terms.

But back to topic: I chose to point out how CM jargon can be incomprehensible to patients by referring to a case of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) characterised by what the Chinese refer to as: ‘cock’s crow diarrhoea’ or chronic (long term), loose bowel movements in the morning. In CM, as in Western medicine, diarrhoea is usually due to disorders of the small and large intestines, the stomach, and in CM also the Spleen (once again not synonymous to our understanding of the spleen as such), and is clinically distinguished into acute and chronic types.

In CM theory, the Stomach dominates receiving food and water and the Spleen dominates what is termed: Transportation and Transformation of food and water into the ‘essence of food and water’. When the Stomach and Spleen are diseased, normal digestion and absorption of food and water is disturbed, resulting in a mix of ‘essence’ with waste products passed through the large intestine as diarrhoea. In CM, the Spleen Yang (functional aspect of the organ) is closely related to the Kidney Yang, because the Kidney is the source of all Yang. This is one of the many energetic functions of the Kidney, it provides the body with its capacity to function optimally.

So let’s look again at our case. The complete sign and symptom picture was as follows: Lower abdominal pain, borborygmi (stomach noises) and loose stools in the morning, all relieved after bowel movement and aggravated by cold. All signs of under functioning  Kidney Yang. A cold, distended abdomen, plus cold legs and feet were also present, as was a pale tongue with a white coat, and a deep, forceless pulse. All further signs of Yang deficiency, this time of the Spleen and Stomach, that is, Kidney Yang not supporting Spleen Yang function. You will have noticed that Yang deficiency is characterised by a lack of warmth. Providing warmth, proper movement and function being a major task of the Yang energy of the body.

Treatment strategies in CM always aim to correct the ‘root’ or cause of a presentation, and not merely resolve the ‘branches’ or signs and symptoms. That’s why invigorating the Kidney Yang with tonification methods and adding warming techniques through moxibustion became important in this case.