Skip to content

Abdominal massage for people with constipation: experiences, effects and cost effectiveness

Status
Active, not recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ISRCTN
Registry ID
ISRCTN64345887
Enrollment
60
Registered
2008-11-21
Start date
2005-01-24
Completion date
Unknown
Last updated
2015-01-13

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Constipation Digestive System Other functional intestinal disorders

Interventions

Age range of the recruited participants: from 36 to 85 years. The participants in the intervention group had 15 minutes of massage 5 days/week for 8 weeks. The duration of massage and number of asses

Sponsors

Swedish Research Council (Sweden)
Lead Sponsor

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: 1. Adults (both males and females) who are constipated, in accordance with Rome II criteria or dependent on laxatives to have sufficient bowel movements 2. Ability to understand and express themselves in Swedish

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: 1. Diagnosis of dementia 2. Psychiatric disease 3. Abdominal hernia 4. Known intestinal cancer 5. Recently undergone surgical operation in the abdomen

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frame
1. Severity of gastrointestinal symptom measured with Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale 2. Laxative use 3. Health related quality of life measured with EQ-5D 4. Experience of being constipated and having abdominal massage 5. Cost effectiveness of the intervention 6. Participants' experiences of having abdominal massage. Data was collected by interviews. The assessments were performed on three occasions: at baseline, Week 4 and 8.

Secondary

MeasureTime frame
1. Time to defecate 2. Number of bowel movements 3. Quantity of faeces 4. Faeces consistency 5. Fluid and fibre intake 6. Physical activity The secondary outcomes were self reported in protocols Monday to Friday at baseline, Week 4 and 8.

Countries

Sweden

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026