Swedish abdominal massage against warm water therapy on postoperative orthopaedic surgery constipation: a comparison quasi-experimental study.

BACKGROUND

Postoperative immobilizatiton for patients with lower extremity fractures causes constipation, which usually affects 50-70% of patients. When it comes to nursing interventions for postoperative constipation, Swedish abdominal massage and warm water drinking therapy are two possible options.

AIM

The objective of this study is to compare the effectiveness of drinking warm water and Swedish abdominal massage on constipation scores on post-operative lower extremity fractures.

METHODS

A quasi-experimental pre-posttest design without control group design was applied. 30 respondents used simple random sampling technique. The Constipation Assessment Scale (CAS) questionnaire was used to assess the patient's constipation levels before and after the intervention. The data analysis used independent t-test.

RESULTS

The mean score of constipation of drinking water group after the intervention was 4.60 while abdominal Swedish massage was 3.56. Although both significantly reduced the constipation score, the p-value was 0.00.

CONCLUSION

The protocol of drinking warm water and Swedish abdominal massage immediately after waking up effectively reduced constipation scores on postoperative lower extremity fracture patients and can be use to adjuvant therapy. Further studies are needed to investigate postoperative constipation patients with immobility and the use of strong analgetics.