Constipation is an uncomfortable and often painful condition that affects up to 15 per cent of the population. Eating fibre, exercising and taking laxatives can help, but some people find that nothing works.
聽at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, and her colleagues recently tested a new constipation treatment designed to increase bowel motions by stimulating nerves in the gut.
They asked 33 women aged 18 to 75 with chronic constipation to use an electrical stimulation device at home for one hour a day for 6 weeks.
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The device works by sending two medium-frequency electric currents diagonally through the torso via two electrodes stuck to the abdomen and two to the back. As the currents cross internally, they interfere with each other and generate a low-frequency electric current that is optimal for stimulating nerve cells in the gut.
Half the participants were assigned to the active treatment and half to a sham treatment, in which the electric currents were directed in parallel so that they were unable to cross over and create the therapeutic current.
Getting things moving
By the end of the 6 weeks, 58 per cent of participants in the active electrical stimulation group were able to pass more than two spontaneous bowel movements per week, compared to 18 per cent in the sham group.
The active intervention group also reported less dependence on laxatives and improved quality of life. These benefits persisted for at least 3 months after they stopped using the device.
Some of the participants found the procedure time-consuming, but they didn鈥檛 experience any pain or serious side-effects. 鈥淚t just feels like a mild tingly, buzzing sensation,鈥� says Moore, who presented the findings at the聽annual scientific meeting of the earlier this month.
The researchers are now hoping to confirm the effectiveness of the device in larger groups of patients.
