The effect of biofeedback training on patients with functional constipation

Area of Science:

• Gastroenterology
• Psychology
• Physiology

Background:

• Functional constipation (FC) significantly impacts patients' quality of life.
• Current treatments for FC may have limitations.
• Biofeedback is a potential therapeutic approach for FC.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the influence of biofeedback training on clinical symptoms, psychological status, quality of life, and autonomic nervous function in FC patients.

Main Methods:

• Prospective quasi-experimental study involving 21 FC patients.
• Biofeedback training consisted of 10 sessions.
• Evaluations included clinical symptoms, Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), MOS 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey, and heart rate variability (HRV) via HANS-1000.

Main Results:

• Significant improvement in clinical symptoms (p < .01).
• Marked decrease in anxiety (SAS) and depression (SDS) scores (p < .01).
• Significant improvements in quality of life measures, particularly general health perceptions and emotional role functioning (p < .05, p < .01).
• No significant improvement in autonomic nervous function (p > .05).

Conclusions:

• Biofeedback training effectively improves clinical symptoms, psychological well-being, and quality of life in FC patients.
• The impact of biofeedback on autonomic nervous function in FC warrants further research.