Comparative Study of the Effect of Acupressure and Abdominal Massage on Constipation in Elderly Women: A Clinical Trial Study.

Constipation is a common complaint and challenge in the elderly. Methods such as acupressure and abdominal massage can be considered for the treatment of constipation in the elderly. This study aimed to compare the effect of abdominal massage and acupressure on constipation in healthy elderly women. In this study, 60 elderly women with constipation participated in two groups. The first group underwent acupressure for 3 minutes every day for 5 days, and the other group underwent classical abdominal massage for 15-20 minutes every day for 5 days. The two groups were followed for a month. Data collection tools included a demographic characteristics questionnaire, Rome III criteria, and constipation assessment scale. The data were analyzed by SPSS18 software. Following the intervention, there was no significant difference between the two groups (p > .05). But in the first month, the mean scores of constipation in the abdominal massage and acupressure groups were 6.30 ± 3.47 and 9.03 ± 3.84, respectively, which showed a significant difference between the two groups for that time period (p = .005). Although there was no significant difference between the two methods during the intervention, the severity of constipation did decrease in each group. Also, in the first month after individual intervention, a significant difference was observed between the two groups. We conclude that abdominal massage can be suggested as an applicable and simple method in the treatment of constipation for elderly women.