Author: Dr. Lee Moon-young (Chief Director, Gangbuk Anjeong Korean Medicine Clinic) This content has been prepared in compliance with relevant laws including the Medical Law.
If your stomach aches mildly and you feel an urgent need to use the bathroom when nervous — there is a high possibility of irritable bowel syndrome
Are you repeatedly experiencing mild stomach aches and sudden urges to use the bathroom before an important presentation or interview, or even without any particular reason? If you have had an endoscopy and were told there was nothing notably wrong, yet symptoms persist, you should first consider irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
According to Seoul National University Hospital Medical Information, irritable bowel syndrome is a functional bowel disease characterized by chronic abdominal pain, abdominal discomfort, and defecation disturbance without structural abnormality of the intestine. Approximately 28% of patients who visit for gastrointestinal symptoms are diagnosed with IBS, making it a common condition. Symptoms typically become more pronounced when certain foods are consumed or stress is experienced.
However, if other signals such as bloody stools, sudden weight loss, or nocturnal abdominal pain appear together, differentiation from organic bowel disease should come first. We will provide more detailed guidance on this below in the self-check section.
Why does the intestine react first when nervous — Understanding the Brain-Gut Axis
Many people wonder, "Why does my stomach hurt whenever I experience stress?" This is because the brain and intestine are connected very closely through the autonomic nervous system.
As organized in University of Michigan Health's Gut-Brain Axis and IBS materials, when a stress response occurs, the colon can be directly stimulated, triggering an urgent need to defecate. This is because signals sent from the brain excessively activate intestinal motility.
Furthermore, according to related clinical data, approximately 95% of the body's total serotonin is produced in the intestine, and when stress disrupts this serotonin secretion pattern, diarrhea-type IBS symptoms tend to worsen. Neurobiology research published in PMC also describes IBS as a complex disease model of brain-gut-microbiota interactions.
In other words, even without visible damage to the intestine itself, functional abnormalities alone are sufficient to cause strong pain and urgent defecation urges. This is precisely why irritable bowel syndrome creates confusion of "why does it hurt so much when tests are normal?" The key to treatment of the underlying cause lies in stabilizing the brain-gut neural circuit.
Gangbuk Anjeong Korean Medicine Clinic's approach to irritable bowel syndrome — examining both constitution and autonomic nervous system
Irritable bowel syndrome involves a complex interplay of stress, intestinal sensitivity, and lifestyle habits, so an approach combining symptom relief with constitutional and lifestyle habit improvement is helpful. Korean medicine considers these multifaceted aspects and proceeds with treatment accordingly.
In a literature review by the Society of Korean Medicine Physiology and Pathology (2021), studies on the effects and mechanisms of herbal medicine and acupuncture treatment in IBS patients have been reviewed. According to a survey study in the Journal of Korean Medicine (JIKM) by the Korean Medical Association, in clinical Korean medicine practice, treatment for irritable bowel syndrome is administered in the following order: acupuncture (89.2%), herbal medicine (84.8%), and moxibustion (65.7%).
Below is a summary of representative types of IBS and the direction of Korean medicine approach.
| Type | Main Symptoms | Korean Medicine Approach Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Diarrhea-predominant (IBS-D) | Abdominal pain followed by diarrhea, urgent need to defecate | Stabilizing intestinal hypersensitivity, autonomic nervous system regulation |
| Constipation-predominant (IBS-C) | Abdominal pain followed by constipation, sense of incomplete evacuation | Intestinal motility coordination, improving digestive circulation |
| Mixed-type (IBS-M) | Alternating diarrhea and constipation repetition | Personalized constitutional approach, lifestyle habit control |
| Unclassified-type (IBS-U) | Does not clearly correspond to any type | Symptom change tracking, phase-based prescription |
Gangbuk Anjeong Korean Medicine Clinic provides care based on constitutional judgment according to Eight-Constitution Medicine and weekly personalized herbal medicine prescriptions, carefully addressing each patient's symptom changes. Rather than providing the same prescription for more than two months, we confirm progress weekly and reflect it in the prescription, allowing us to respond to changes in symptom progression together.
Irritable bowel syndrome — if you are this type of person, check first
Look at the items below one by one. If warning symptoms are present, differentiation from organic bowel disease should be prioritized.
▪ Warning symptoms that require hospital care first
- ▪ Blood is mixed in stool or black-colored stools are visible
- ▪ Weight is noticeably decreasing without particular reason
- ▪ Repeated instances of waking from sleep due to abdominal pain or diarrhea at night
- ▪ Recently diagnosed with anemia or easily feeling dizzy
- ▪ Persistent fever is accompanying the symptoms
- ▪ These gastrointestinal symptoms newly started after age 50
- ▪ There is a history of colorectal cancer in the family
Seoul National University Hospital Medical Information also guides that when warning symptoms like those above are present, precision tests such as colonoscopy must be conducted to confirm whether organic disease is present.
▪ If the following apply, you can take an approach for functional bowel disease
- ▪ None of the warning symptoms above apply to you
- ▪ Tests (endoscopy, blood tests, etc.) showed no abnormal findings
- ▪ Abdominal pain and urgent need to defecate become more pronounced after stress or specific meals
- ▪ There is a tendency for abdominal pain to improve temporarily after defecation
- ▪ Symptoms have been repeating for more than 6 months
If warning symptoms are absent and stress- and meal-related abdominal pain and urgent defecation needs repeat, you can primarily consider a functional bowel disease approach aimed at lifestyle habit control and autonomic nervous system stabilization.
Not only near Suyu Station in Gangbuk, but also those searching for Mia Korean medicine clinic, Suyu digestive system Korean medicine clinic, or those considering management of Dobong irritable bowel syndrome can conveniently visit Gangbuk Anjeong Korean Medicine Clinic, which is close to Suyu Station.
A daily life made anxious by stomach issues — let us explore this together
If your stomach hurts and you need to find a bathroom every time you get nervous, that becomes a burden in your daily life. Before important occasions, you become more anxious, and that anxiety stimulates your intestines again, creating a vicious cycle. Since there is clinical evidence that symptom improvement can be expected when stress management and dietary adjustment are performed together, it is more helpful to identify the cause and establish a management direction together rather than endure it alone.
If your daily life becomes anxious due to stomach issues, why not conveniently start a consultation at Gangbuk Anjeong Korean Medicine Clinic through Naver reservations, where we examine your constitution and symptoms together — Suyu Station Exit 3, open from 8 a.m. on weekdays, weekends, and holidays. Even if symptoms are varied and change from day to day, we will monitor progress on a weekly basis and coordinate together. Please feel free to ask us first without hesitation.
Irritable bowel syndrome — you probably have these questions
Q1. I experience stomach aches and sudden bathroom urges only when nervous or stressed. Is this irritable bowel syndrome?
If abdominal pain and urgent defecation needs repeat in situations involving stress or nervousness, this matches the representative pattern of IBS. Since the brain and intestine are connected by the autonomic nervous system, emotional tension directly affects intestinal motility. However, accurate judgment is made through examination together with checking for warning symptoms, so it is good to look into it once if symptoms repeat.
Q2. I had a colonoscopy and they said it was normal. What should I do if my stomach continues to hurt?
Even if endoscopy results are normal, if symptoms persist, it may be a functional bowel disease in which the intestinal function itself becomes abnormal without structural damage. Irritable bowel syndrome is exactly such a case. Just because tests are normal does not mean you should simply endure the symptoms; you can consider an approach centered on functional causes.
Q3. Is Korean medicine treatment helpful for irritable bowel syndrome? What kind of treatment can I receive?
In Korean medicine clinical practice, treatment using acupuncture, herbal medicine, and moxibustion is performed in IBS patients, and related research continues. Gangbuk Anjeong Korean Medicine Clinic identifies intestinal hypersensitivity and stress response patterns based on Eight-Constitution diagnosis, and responds to symptom changes in phases through weekly personalized herbal medicine prescriptions.
This content is provided for informational purposes. Please be sure to consult with medical professionals for specific diagnosis and treatment.