Suffering from constipation? Self-acupressure can help

Eat more veggies. That will aid health in several ways.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-11/uoc--sfc111814.php

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 18-Nov-2014

Contact: Enrique Rivero
University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences
Suffering from constipation? Self-acupressure can help
UCLA Center for East-West Medicine research shows how Eastern and Western medicine can blend to find solutions to this common problem

About 19 percent of North Americans suffer from constipation, with the digestive condition being more common among women, non-whites, people older than 60, those who are not physically active and the poor.

The costs are significant. Hospital costs to treat the condition were estimated at $4.25 billion in 2010 alone. Constipation can also lead to depression, lower quality of life and a drop in work productivity. Treatments include use of laxatives, increased intake of dietary fiber and fluid, and exercise.

But new research from the UCLA Center for East-West Medicine published online in the Journal of General Internal Medicine shows how Eastern and Western medicine can blend to find solutions to this common medical problem. In a randomized clinical trial, 72 percent of participants said that perineal self-acupressure, a simple technique involving the application of external pressure to the perineum -- the area between the anus and genitals -- helped them have a bowel movement.

•••••