Natural Laxatives vs. Massage to Relieve Constipation


Natural laxatives differ in the way they function in the body and many people are hesitant to use them because some forms of natural laxatives (mainly stimulant laxatives) have harmful side effects over long-term use. Massage, on the other hand, would seem to be a possible solution for chronic constipation that would have no side effects. The idea is that the masseuse can massage along the digestive tract to help externally move stool through the system. But is it effective? Let’s take a look at the research :


Massage as a Constipation Treatment


There have been multiple studies done on massage for constipation relief, but they have not always been conclusive. Let’s quickly review them:


  • A 1992 study in the journal Gastroenterology administered abdominal wall massage on 9 constipated people and 7 controls. The massage sessions were about 20 minutes long. They found that stool frequency and colonic transit times (how long it took for stool to move through the bowel) did not change with the treatment (constipation was unaffected in both groups).
  • A 1997 study in Physiotherapy looked at massage in institutionalized adults and found that laxative therapy and massage therapy did not differ in their results. The adults took their laxative regime for 7 weeks and had massage performed for 7 weeks and both of these treatments decreased transit time equally.
  • A 2010 study in Multiple Sclerosis found that people suffering from MS who had caregivers administer abdominal massage daily over 4 weeks showed greater improvement in constipation relief than controls (natural laxatives weren’t compared in this study).

    • Massage vs. Natural Laxatives or Massage AND Natural Laxatives?


    So we see that there are conflicting studies showing that massage can help some specialized populations and others showing that it does not help or is not better than natural laxatives. But perhaps the most important study is found in the International Journal of Nursing Studies. In 2009 the journal reported an experiment in which 60 people (larger sample size than the other studies) were studied and found that massage combined with natural laxatives was more effective than laxatives alone in relieving both constipation and abdominal pain syndrome (which often accompanies constipation).


    This leads one to the conclusion that when dealing with constipation (chronic variety) it seems to be best to incorporate a natural laxative and massage into a fully holistic treatment regime. Massage is likely not a full on replacement for your laxative (natural or not) but it can serve as an effective combination when major constipation relief is needed.