S1504 A Nervous System Regulation Program Improves Symptoms for Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Introduction: Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is a condition of chronic, autoimmune inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. Treatment of symptoms, including pain, requires multimodal care. In addition to treating inflammation with pharmacotherapy, patients with IBD benefit from psychosocial therapies and lifestyle modifications to treat symptoms and improve overall function. For this reason, a shared-group-style nervous system regulation program (NSRP) was designed to improve symptoms of IBD. Methods: The NSRP included 6 weekly, one-hour group sessions with a certified functional medicine practitioner. Each week was dedicated to a specific topic and take-away. Participants completed the Fatigue Severity Scale and Medical Symptoms Questionnaire at each visit. The Wilcoxon Matched Pairs Signed Rank test was used to test for differences before and after the program. Results: 130 subjects enrolled. 120 subjects participated in at least 2 sessions. 70% of the cohort improved their Medical Symptoms Questionnaire score, which was statistically significant (P < 0.001). The overall average change per individual was -8.4 points. Fifty-one patients completed all 6 sessions and had even greater improvement, with an average change of -10.7 points per individual. There was no statistically significant change in Fatigue Severity Scale scores. Conclusion: Patients with IBD who participated in an NSRP under the guidance of a functional medicine practitioner reported improvement in medical symptoms. Those who completed all sessions experienced greater than average improvement. The authors conclude that a holistic, multidisciplinary, group-based program can significantly enhance the care of patients with IBD by improving their symptoms and quality of life.