Comparing Manual and Automatic Colonic Massage for Chronic Constipation.

Literature Inclusion Criteria: * Study type: * Clinical studies using abdominal/colon massage to treat constipation. * Articles published between 1990 and till the day of literature search with original work (experimental and quasi-experimental ) or dealing with the application of colon massage to gastrointestinal function. * Study subjects: * Patients with constipation. * Individuals of any gender, age and ethnicity. * Interventions: \- Manual or automatic colon massage treatment for constipation. * Outcomes (including at least one of the following): * Evacuation frequency. * Quality of life parameters. * Symptoms of constipation. * Use of laxatives or enemas. * Adverse events. Literature Exclusion Criteria: * No abstract available, reviews, conference abstracts, dissertations, registration documents, clinical experience summary analysis, animal experiments, etc. * Studies where the treatment was non-colon specific. * Studies involving invasive treatments. * Other treatments intended to treat constipation such as surgical interventions, acupuncture, acupoint application, and others considered medicinal alternative therapies. * Documents written in languages other than in English, German, Spanish, as well as other European languages, including Italian, French, and Portuguese. * Incorrect or incomplete case data.