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

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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.

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Data sharing and data accessibility

The data used to support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.

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Acknowledgments

Guarantor of the article: Kyoung Oh Kim MD, PhD.

Funding

This research was supported by a grant from the Korea Health Technology R&D Project through the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), funded by the Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea (Grant Number HI16C2319).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Gil Medical Center, Gachon University College of Medicine, 21 Namdong-daero 774 beon-gil, Namdong-gu, Incheon, 21565, South Korea

    Youn I Choi, Kyoung Oh Kim, Jun-Won Chung, Kwang An Kwon, Yoon Jae Kim, Jung Ho Kim & Dong Kyun Park

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  1. Youn I Choi
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Contributions

YIC and KOK contributed to the study concept and design. YIC analyzed and interpreted the data. YIC and KOK drafted the manuscript. DKP, KOK, KAK, JWC, and YJK critically revised the manuscript for important intellectual content. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript submitted.

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Correspondence to Kyoung Oh Kim.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical considerations

Written informed consent was obtained from all patients before participation. The institutional review board approved this study protocol (GCIRB 2018-293), and the study was registered with the Clinical Research Information Service (KCT0003521).

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Choi, Y.I., Kim, K.O., Chung, JW. et al. Effects of Automatic Abdominal Massage Device in Treatment of Chronic Constipation Patients: A Prospective Study. Dig Dis Sci 66, 3105–3112 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10620-020-06626-3

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