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Use of complementary and alternative medicine to treat constipation in the elderly
Author(s) -
Cherniack E. Paul
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
geriatrics and gerontology international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.823
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1447-0594
pISSN - 1444-1586
DOI - 10.1111/ggi.12023
Subject(s) - medicine , blinding , massage , alternative medicine , constipation , adverse effect , biofeedback , clinical trial , modalities , intensive care medicine , medline , traditional medicine , physical therapy , social science , pathology , sociology , political science , law
Many modalities of complementary and alternative medicine, such as probiotic bacteria, traditional herbal medicines, biofeedback and massage, have been used to treat constipation in older adults. Virtually all studies in the published literature have been plagued with methodological problems, such as lack of blinding. C hinese herbal medications have been the most frequent subject of studies in controlled trials, but have suffered from methodological insufficiencies, and few have been published in publications other than C hinese language journals. Several therapies, such as yogurt containing probiotic bacteria and massage, are relatively easy to use by the patient, and are likely to cause few adverse reactions. Therefore, complementary and alternative therapies might show the greatest promise for being adopted as adjunctive therapies to conventional treatment. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2013; 13: 533–538.