Non-Pharmacological Constipation Management in People With Neurodegenerative Disease: A Scoping Review

Constipation is a common symptom among people with neurodegenerative diseases (PWND), with prevalence ranging from 25.2% to 70%. This is linked to cognitive decline, poor quality of life (QOL), and reduced survival. Although various non-pharmacological interventions exist, their methods and effects are inconsistent, highlighting the need to map current evidence.

This scoping review aimed to systematically map evidence on non-pharmacological interventions in PWND, identify gaps, and provide recommendations for future research.

A bibliographic search of PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library was conducted in March 2026 without date restrictions. Studies on non-pharmacological interventions for constipation in PWND were included.

Of 2,024 identified studies, 13 were included. The included studies targeted people with multiple sclerosis (n = 7), Parkinson's disease (n = 5), and dementia (n = 1), using various diagnostic criteria for constipation. The most frequently used non-pharmacological interventions were abdominal massage (n = 4) and acupuncture (n = 4), followed by biofeedback (n = 2), bowel training (n = 1), foot reflexology (n = 1), and ginger supplementation (n = 1). The type, provider, duration, and frequency of each intervention varied across studies. Improvements were observed in constipation-related outcomes (n = 10), disease-related outcomes (n = 2), QOL outcomes (n = 3), and other outcomes (n = 3), with diverse measurement tools and findings reported.

Non-pharmacological interventions may improve constipation and overall well-being in PWND. However, heterogeneity in protocols highlights the need for standardized, disease-specific, nurse-led approaches to support clinical integration.

The review protocol was registered in the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/tu7k3).