Irritable Bowel Syndrome or IBS is a very common problem that affects about twenty percent of the American population. Irritable bowel syndrome is also known by other names such as spastic bowel, spastic colon, spastic colitis, and functional bowel syndrome.
IBS is usually classified as a functional disorder. A functional disorder refers to a disorder where the abnormality in how the body works is the problem, but somehow or the other the causes of that disorder are difficult to identify.
Usually, through regular methods, a functional disorder cannot be diagnosed. The reason behind this is that it is not an infection. It is not an inflammation. And it is not a structural abnormality either. Because of that, commonly used testing methods such as x-rays or blood tests cannot detect it.