Biofeedback Fights Constipation.

Biofeedback is an effective long-term therapy for the most common cause of chronic constipation, Dr. Satish S.C. Rao reported at the annual meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology in New York.

Roughly 50% of all cases of chronic constipation are due to a failure of coordination between the pelvic floor muscles and the anal sphincter--a condition called dyssynergic defecation, or anismus.

A biofeedback training program corrected the dyssynergic defecation pattern in all 80 patients who completed it, and improvement was generally sustained at 6 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year of follow-up. Indeed, at 1 year, 90% of patients showed strong improvement in manometric measurements of anorectal coordination, rectal sensation, and balloon expulsion. Moreover, 75% of patients noted significantly decreased straining in self-maintained defecation diaries. Self-reported stool frequency climbed from 4.2 per week at baseline to 7.2 per week at 1 year. Overall, 75% of patients expressed satisfaction with their bowel function, said Dr. Rao of the University of Iowa, Iowa City.