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Volume 8
Journal of Traditional Medicine & Clinical Naturopathy
Page 27
June 20-21, 2019 Dubai, UAE
Joint Meeting on
&
2
nd
World Congress on Traditional & Complemenatry Medicine
2
nd
International Conference on Herbal & Traditional Medicine
Traditional Med Meet 2019 &
Herbal Traditional 2019
June 20-21, 2019
Jurairat Boonruab et al., J Tradit Med Clin Natur 2019, Volume 8
A comparative study on the efficacy of Thai traditional abdominal massage and Senokot in
relieving constipation
Jurairat Boonruab
1
, Netraya Nimpitakpong
1
, Phiyaphon Poonsuk
1
and Watchara Damjuti
2
1
Thammasat University, Thailand
2
Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi, Thailand
C
onstipation is a gastrointestinal disorder commonly found among people in all age groups and physical
states. If left untreated, constipation can result in more severe illnesses or even increase the risk of
colon cancer. Treatment of constipation can be carried out using medicinal or non-medicinal approaches.
Non-medicinal approaches involve the modification of healthcare behavior, such as consumption of food
with a high-fiber content, intake of plenty of water and improvement of sleep quality and the application of
therapeutic abdominal massage. Applying a randomized-controlled trial research design, the present study
aims to compare Thai traditional abdominal massage and Senokot in terms of their efficacy in relieving
constipation. The subjects were 40 patients diagnosed with constipation using the Rome III criteria. They
were randomized into the treatment group (n=20) and the control group (n=20). The former received a 50-
min Thai traditional abdominal massage daily for seven days, whereas the latter took two tablets of Senokot
daily before bedtime for seven days. The research instruments were survey questionnaires, food and beverage
consumption and defecation form and the Bristol stool chart. It was found that although both the Thai
traditional abdominal massage and Senokot could effectively increase the frequency of defecation, only the
massage did not cause undesirable side effects or complications such as irritation to the intestinal mucosa
barrier. Based on the findings, it can be concluded that Thai traditional abdominal massage should be a better
treatment option for constipation than Senokot.
Biography
Jurairat Boonruab has completed her PhD from Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. She is currently working as the Lecturer at Faculty of
Medicine, Thammasat University, Thailand.
jurairat@tu.ac.th