Page 74 - JCBP-1-2
P. 74
Journal of Clinical and
Basic Psychosomatics The psychosomatic digestive in China
Finally, technicians in the ward also play a role in The establishment of the psychosomatic digestive ward
the treatment of patients with FGID. These technicians in China is a successful demonstration of implementing
include TCM physiotherapists and physical technicians. the concept of body-mind integrity. After 1 year of careful
The physical technicians are responsible for administering exploration, a localized treatment model for FGID in the
neuroregulatory therapies, such as applying repetitive psychosomatic digestive ward in China was established,
transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and using benefitting a large number of patients who were facing
gastrointestinal biofeedback therapy apparatus on tough recoveries. The psychosomatic digestive ward is
patients. Physiotherapists provide therapies involving an innovative practice model that should be gradually
auricular electrostimulation, acupuncture, and massage. implemented in more hospitals, so that patients with
The neuroregulatory therapies of rTMS and transcranial FGID can receive more effective and timely treatment,
direct current stimulation are applied every workday, with significantly reducing the wastage of medical resources,
each session lasting 60 min and 10 sessions making up a and ultimately improving the quality of life for these
complete course of treatment. Similarly, TCM therapy patients.
is conducted for 30 min each session and consists of 10
sessions in a complete course of treatment. Acknowledgments
It is worth mentioning that TCM therapies have None.
largely promoted the recovery of patients with FGID. One Conflict of interest
such therapy is massage, an important practice in TCM
known for its ease of operation, high safety, and minimal The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest
invasiveness. In short, massage involves the rubbing and in this study.
pressing of specific regions of a person’s body with specific
hand techniques. Through massage, the function of viscera, References
Qi and blood, and meridians can be regulated, leading to 1. Sperber AD, Bangdiwala SI, Drossman DA, et al.,
the prevention and treatment of diseases. A great number 2021, Worldwide prevalence and burden of functional
of research studies and clinical practices have proven gastrointestinal disorders, results of Rome foundation global
that massage can be an effective method for relieving study. Gastroenterology, 160: 99–114.e3.
gastrointestinal symptoms in both children and adults. In https://doi.org/10.1053/j.gastro.2020.04.014
addition, acupuncture, another TCM method, involves the
insertion of special thin needles into the skin on specific 2. Li C, Xu J, Yin D, et al., 2021, Prevalence and trigger factors
of functional gastrointestinal disorders among male civil
parts of the body to treat pain and illnesses. The previous pilots in China. Sci Rep, 11: 2021.
studies have demonstrated that acupuncture can regulate
the internal environment of the human body and play https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-81825-0
an important role in treating various illnesses, including 3. Huang Y, Tan SY, Parikh P, et al., 2021, Prevalence of
gastrointestinal symptoms. Acupuncture holds promise as functional gastrointestinal disorders in infants and young
a potential treatment method for FGID. children in China. BMC Pediatr, 21: 131.
After over 1 year of exploration, we have created https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-021-02610-6
a unique model for the treatment of FGIDs in China. 4. Barberio B, Zamani M, Black CJ, et al., 2021, Prevalence
The average length of stay in the ward was 12 days, and of symptoms of anxiety and depression in patients with
approximately 100 patients were discharged from the ward inflammatory bowel disease: A systematic review and meta-
every month. Common types of FGIDs treated in the ward analysis. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol, 6: 359–370.
included functional constipation, functional diarrhea, https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-1253(21)00014-5
functional dyspepsia, functional esophageal disorders, and 5. Sandler RS, Everhart JE, Donowitz M, et al., 2002, The
chronic nausea and vomiting syndrome. Depression and burden of selected digestive diseases in the United States.
anxiety were highly comorbid with FGIDs. With systematic Gastroenterology, 122: 1500–1511.
treatment in the ward, more than 80% of the patients
showed significant improvement not only in somatic https://doi.org/10.1053/gast.2002.32978
symptoms and negative mood but also in psychological 6. Tack J, Stanghellini V, Mearin F, et al., 2019, Economic
distress. Patients followed up regularly at the outpatient burden of moderate to severe irritable bowel syndrome with
clinic, with the first clinic follow-up taking place 2 weeks constipation in six European countries. BMC Gastroenterol,
after discharge from the hospital. Nurses regularly made 19: 69.
follow-up telephone calls to patients within 1 year. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12876-019-0985-1
Volume 1 Issue 2 (2023) 3 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcbp.0961

