Effects of Automatic Abdominal Massage Device in Treatment of Chronic Constipation Patients: A Prospective Study

Abstract

Background and Aim: Manual abdominal massage has been shown to effectively treat slow-transit constipation, but it is labor-intensive. To offer an alternative treatment option for constipation, the Bamk-001 automatic abdominal massage device was developed. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of the Bamk-001 device on symptom profiles and colon transit time (CTT) in patients with chronic constipation. Methods: Thirty-seven patients with chronic functional constipation diagnosed using the Rome IV criteria were enrolled prospectively from December 2018 to February 2019. All patients received device-assisted automatic abdominal massage for 15 min twice daily, once in the morning before breakfast and once at night, for 14 days. CTT was measured before and at the end of the study period. Slow-transit constipation and very-slow-transit constipation were defined as CTT ≥ 48 h and ≥ 72 h, respectively. Patients’ symptom profiles regarding overall defecation satisfaction and device-related adverse events were analyzed. Results: Among the 37 patients, the mean age was 40.1 ± 11.8, and 5.4% (n = 2) were men. The Bamk-001 device significantly improved CTT from 54.0 (33.6–75.6) to 28.8 (18.0–52.8) h (p = 0.001) in patients with chronic constipation. In subgroup analysis, CTT improved significantly from 54.0 (33.6–75.6) to 28.8 (18.0–52.8) h (p = 0.003) and from 88.2 (74.4–124.8) to 45.6 (27.3–74.1) h (p = 0.005) in the slow-transit and very-slow-transit constipation groups, respectively (p = 0.001). Moreover, all patient symptoms were alleviated after treatment. No serious adverse events were reported. Conclusion: The Bamk-001 automatic abdominal massage device showed significant care efficacy, including the improvement in CTT and symptom profiles in patients with slow-transit constipation. The use of an automatic abdominal massage device as an adjunct in the management of constipation is a potentially beneficial intervention for patients with slow-transit constipation. © 2020, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.