Complementary and Alternative Therapies for Chronic Constipation

Abstract

Chronic constipation, an ancient disease, is prevalent, and costly in the general population. Complementary and alternative therapies are frequently used for constipation. This review introduces various methods of complementary and alternative therapies, including acupuncture, moxibustion, massage, and herbal medicine. Efficacy, safety, influence factors, sham control design, and mechanisms of these therapies are discussed and evaluated. Acupuncture or electroacupuncture was found to be most commonly used for constipation among these complementary and alternative therapies, followed by herbal medicine. Although only a small number of clinical studies are flawless, our review of the literature seems to suggest that acupuncture or electroacupuncture and herbal medicine are effective in treating constipation, whereas findings on massage and moxibustion are inconclusive. More well-designed clinical trials are needed to improve and prove the efficacy of the complementary and alternative therapies for constipation; mechanistic studies that would lead to wide spread use and improvement of the methods are also discussed in this review.

Acupuncture for patients with chronic functional constipation: A randomized controlled trial

“…Finally, this might be long‐lasting effect of acupuncture, which was found in previous studies for pain conditions, functional dyspepsia . However, little evidence is found to support this assumption, and mechanism of acupuncture effect in improving constipation symptoms is still unknown . The effect may be related to elevating in vivo motilin level, increasing number of Cajal cells, and working through vagal and parasympathetic nerves …”

Abdominal electroacupuncture demonstrates an increase in complete spontaneous bowel movements

“…Therefore, alternative therapies are being researched. Multiple abdominal points (‘acupoints’) have been associated with stimulation of parasympathetic nerves (ST25, ST37, BL25, ST36 and TE6) 3. A recent report evaluated the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) applied at ST25, SP14 and ST37 on severe chronic constipation (CC) in a randomised controlled trial (RCT).…”

Constipation and Botanical Medicines: An Overview

“…The side effects of anthraquinones include discoloration of the urine, reversible melanosis of the colon, and hemorrhoid congestion (Wang and Yin, ). No changes in serum electrolyte levels were found with recommended doses of anthraquinones.…”