Bonding, Visceral Hypersensitivity and Gui Zhi Tang (Cinnamon Twig Decoction) in Irritable Bowel Syndrome

This article shows how the integration of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with modern biomedicine can lead to a more thorough understanding of a stubborn and chronic disorder such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and how this disorder can be successfully treated with traditional Chinese herbal medicine. The article is based on the case of a 19-year-old soldier who presented with IBS manifesting as diarrhoea and abdominal pain, and includes discussions of the interaction of emotions and physiology, and how deficiencies in Earth-phase energetics can manifest as gastro-intestinal disorders such as IBS.