IOWA CITY, Iowa, April 3 Biofeedback can successfully retrain muscles to relieve chronic constipation, according to a University of Iowa study.Chronic constipation affects 15 percent to 20 percent of the U.S. population. Nearly one-third have dyssynergic defecation, which occurs when the muscles used for bowel movements do not work well.Biofeedback is an alternative form of medicine that raises a person's awareness of their own bodily processes.The findings in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology compared biofeedback to the standard treatment of laxatives, diet and exercise; or a sham treatment.Nearly 80 percent of the individuals using biofeedback had corrected bowel function at the end of the study, compared to 4 percent of the sham group and about 8 percent of the group using laxatives, diet and exercise, according to study author Dr. Satish Rao.Copyright 2007 by UPI
