Acupuncture for Constipation

How Chinese medicine understands constipation

In Chinese medicine, the Large Intestine moves waste down and out. It needs Qi to push, and enough fluid to keep the stool moist. Constipation happens when there is too much heat drying things out, when Qi is stuck, or when the body is too weak or too dry to move things along. Each has its own signs.

The common patterns are:

• Heat in the intestines. Stools are hard, dry and dark. You may be thirsty, with bad breath, a red face or a yellow tongue coating. Spicy food, alcohol and fevers can bring this on.
• Qi stagnation. Stress stops the bowel moving. You feel the urge but cannot go, pass small pebbles, and have bloating and belching that ease after a bowel movement.
• Qi deficiency. The stool is not especially hard, but there is no strength to push it out. You feel drained or sweaty after straining. This is common in older adults and after illness.
• Blood and Yin deficiency. Not enough fluid. Stools are dry and small, with dry skin, dizziness or a pale face. It is common after childbirth, with age, or after a long illness.
• Yang deficiency. A cold, slow bowel. Going is difficult, and you feel cold, with cold hands and feet and a sore lower back.

The first two are excess patterns and the rest are deficiency patterns. Clearing heat would make a weak, cold bowel worse, which is why the diagnosis matters.

What treatment involves

Your first visit covers how often you go, what your stools look like, what you eat and drink, how active you are, your stress, and any medicines you take. I check your tongue and pulse, then explain your pattern in plain terms.

Acupuncture for constipation commonly uses points on the belly, legs and lower back, chosen for your pattern. Treatment aims to get the bowel moving regularly. It clears heat, moves stuck Qi, or builds strength, depending on your pattern.

Chinese herbal medicine can be part of the plan. You take a formula written for your pattern, and it changes as your bowels change. The aim is a regular bowel that works without harsh laxatives, so formulas for weak or dry patterns look quite different from formulas for heat.

If your main complaint is a swollen, gassy belly rather than slow bowels, the bloating page may fit better.

Plan on 5–10 treatments to judge progress. The clinic is in Keswick, and treatment can run alongside the care you get from your family doctor.

Between visits

• Add fibre slowly: vegetables, fruit, whole grains, beans, lentils or ground flax. Increase it over a couple of weeks to avoid gas.
• Drink enough fluid, especially if you are adding fibre.
• Go when you feel the urge, and give yourself unhurried time after breakfast, when the bowel is naturally most active.
• Put your feet on a small stool when you sit on the toilet, so your knees are above your hips.
• Move every day. Walking helps the bowel move.

When to see your doctor first

See your doctor promptly if you have:

• Blood in your stool, or black, tarry stools.
• Weight loss you cannot explain.
• Constipation that is new, or a clear change in your usual bowel habits, especially after age 50.
• Stools that have become much thinner, or alternate with diarrhoea.
• Severe belly pain, vomiting, or not passing any gas. Go to emergency for these.
• Signs of anaemia, such as unusual tiredness, paleness or shortness of breath.
• A family history of bowel cancer or inflammatory bowel disease.