Electrical stimulation helps treat constipation in clinical trial

Electrical stimulation benefited women with constipation in a recent clinical trial published in


Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics


.

In the trial, 33 women with constipation that had not improved with standard treatment received either real or sham electrical stimulation on the stomach and back for 1 hour each day for 6 weeks. The women did not know whether they were receiving the real or the sham treatment. Treatment was successful in 53% of the women in the first group but only 12% in the second. Furthermore, the improvement in symptoms lasted for at least 3 months after the treatment ended, and there were no reported side effects.

“This treatment is very promising and offers patients a well-tolerated alternative to laxative medications,” said lead author Judith S. Moore, PhD, RN, of Monash University in Australia.

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