Yesterday, while doing some research on the topic of bloating, I came across the transcript of a Podcast session in which Dr. Michael Ruscio interviewed Dr. Peter Whorwell. The title of the Podcast was ‘Overcoming bloating & distention.’ You can find the full transcript here.

Here are some of the key points I took away from the Podcast, together with other facts I’ve discovered in my research on the topic.

Abdominal Bloating

• Bloating refers to the sensation of abdominal (tummy) swelling, sometimes described as the feeling of an inflated balloon in the belly. It can occur as a sensation of gas stretching the gut, with or without actual distention.

• According to Monash University, over 90% of patients with IBS may be affected by bloating.

• Bloating caused by gas ranges from mild discomfort to intense pain.

• Many people with IBS find bloating as intrusive as their other IBS symptoms.

• Functional abdominal bloating is never constant or unremitting. It comes and goes in one of two patterns—shortly after meals or near the end of the day.

• The terms bloating and distention are often used interchangeably. But they are different conditions albeit you can experience both at the same time.

• The main reason to distinguish between abdominal bloating and distention is that there may be different underlying causes for these symptoms, so different treatments may be needed.

• Bloaters without distention tend to have a loose bowel and be viscerally hypersensitive. Visceral means ‘internal’. Hypersensitivity means they feel bloated and discomfort in response to a normal amount of gas pressure.

• If you’re a loose bowel bloater, Doctors Ruscio and Whorwell said that cutting back on fibre can help as, fibre ferments inside you, creating a lot of gas and, if you’re viscerally hypersensitive, you don’t cope well with that gas.

• Gut Directed Hypnotherapy helps solve bloating.

Abdominal Distention

• 50% of patients who experience bloating also experience distension of the abdomen.

• Abdominal distention refers to an actual increase in measured abdominal size. Studies have shown that abdominal size can increase by as much as 12 cm in some people. This can give the person the appearance that they are pregnant.

• What causes the abdomen to distend? In a normal person, when they eat a meal, their diaphragm relaxes and moves up. Because the diaphragm goes up, their belly doesn’t get bigger or change shape. This is called the ‘accommodation reflex’. But, in distenders, the accommodation reflex is reversed. When they eat their diaphragm goes down, and their tummy relaxes and expands.

• Men don’t distend as much as women because women’s abdomens are designed to stretch to accommodate pregnancy.

• Distenders tend not to be as viscerally sensitive as bloaters.

• Distenders tend to be constipated. When constipated, the colon becomes distended as stool backs up in the intestines, increasing mass in the gut.

• Distenders think they must have a massive amount of gas inside their abdomen, but it isn’t excessive gas. Instead, factors such as impaired intestinal gas transit and visceral hypersensitivity are thought to play important roles. Other possible factors can include weak or inappropriately relaxed abdominal muscles, an inappropriately contracted diaphragm (see above) and retained fluid in loops of distal small bowel.

• Gut Directed Hypnotherapy helps solve distention.

I’ve highlighted what are, in my opinion, the two most key facts – studies show that gut directed hypnotherapy can help reduce the sensation of bloating and distention.

So, if you’re experiencing bloating and/or distention, then it may be time to try gut directed hypnotherapy. If you’d like to explore how it can help you gain relief, get in touch by phone or email and let’s schedule a time for a conversation.