Summary
Constipation affects many people with multiple sclerosis (MS), negatively impacting on their quality of life. The use of abdominal massage has been reported in several populations and has been shown to increase the frequency of defaecation. The objective of this study was to determine the feasibility of undertaking abdominal massage in people with MS. McClurg D, Hagen S, Hawkins S, Lowe-Strong A. Mult Scler. 2010 Oct 12. [Epub ahead of print]
Details
The authors investigated the feasibility of abdominal massage as
constipation management measure in patients with MS. 30 patients
with constipation were randomly assigned to either receive advice
on bowel management alone or advice on bowel management in
addition to daily self/carer delivered abdominal massage. The
massage group participants were provided with advice on bowel
management, and they or their carers were taught how to deliver
abdominal massage and were recommended to perform it daily during
the 4-week intervention period. The control group received bowel
management advice only.
Outcome of both interventions was measured with standardised
constipation scoring systems. Both groups demonstrated a decrease
in constipation scores from Week 0 to Week 4, indicating an
improvement in constipation symptoms; however, the massage group
improved significantly more than the control groups. This small
pilot study suggests that self/carer delivered abdominal massage
may be helpful in management of constipation for patients with
MS.