Irritable Bowl Syndrome is a result of a dysfunction of the nerves that control the muscles of the gastrointestinal tract. However, the nervous system of the intestines is very complex.

A system of nerves runs the entire length of the gastrointestinal tract from the esophagus to the anus in the muscular walls of the organs. These nerves communicate with other nerves that travel to and from the spinal cord. Nerves within the spinal cord, in turn, travel to and from the brain. (The gastrointestinal tract is exceeded in the numbers of nerves it contains only by the spinal cord and brain.) Thus, the abnormal function of the nervous system may occur in a gastrointestinal muscular organ, the spinal cord, or the brain.

These systems of nerves have sensory type nerves and motor type nerves. Sensory nerves serve to “sense” what occurs in the organ and communicates this information to nerves in the walls of the organ. The data is then transferred to the spinal cord and brain.

The sensory input results in the motor responses called contractions and relaxation in the muscles of the organ. As such, abnormal inputs to the sensory nerves or the motor nerves or even at the receptors in the intestines, brain and spinal cord can produce irritable bowl syndrome.

Some researchers argue that the cause of functional diseases is abnormalities in the function of the sensory nerves. For example, normal activities, such as stretching of the small intestine by food, may give rise to abnormal sensory signals that are sent to the spinal cord and brain, where they are perceived as pain.

There are other researchers who agree that abnormalities in how the motor nerves work can cause the perception of a problem. An example would be abnormal impulses through motor nerves that cause a painful contraction of a muscle.

Another possibility other than nerves that is generating a lot of scientific interest is the presents of gas caused by bacteria in the intestines in irritable bowl patients. A number of studies have found that people who suffer from irritable bowl syndrome generate much more gas that lingers longer in the intestines then in most people.

Among patients with irritable bowl syndrome, abdominal size increases over the day, reaching a maximum in the evening and returning to baseline by the following morning. Poor digestion and/or absorption of dietary sugars may play in aggravating the symptoms of IBS since unabsorbed sugars often cause increased formation of gas.

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