Acupuncture is effective for constipation

Chronic constipation is a common symptom that affects nearly 16% of the world population. It has big impact on the patient’s quality of life. Acupuncture is used to treat constipation in China. Recent research has also shown that effectiveness of acupuncture on constipation. For example, there was a research involved in 1075 patients. These patients were divided into two groups: acupuncture group and sham acupuncture group. The study lasted for 20 weeks. The improvement started from 1-8 weeks. 72% patients had improvements in week 9. The response lasts for 12 weeks after the treatment period. Patients with increasing age and coexisting illness may be less likely to respond to acupuncture.

Reference
Yang X et al Plos One (2017) 12:e0187723.