Stimulation for Bowel Emptying

Recruiting now · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Neurogenic Bowel Dysfunction

In brief

The investigators are testing the effect of electrical stimulation of the rectum on colonic motility. Most individuals with spinal cord injury develop neurogenic bowel dysfunction, which includes slowed colonic motility, which means that stools take longer than normal to pass through the colon. This slowed movement may result in chronic constipation and difficulty emptying the bowels. Individuals typically (without or without caregiver assistance) insert a gloved finger into the rectum and gently stretch it to improve colonic motility for a brief period to empty the bowels. The investigators hypothesize that electrically stimulating the rectum, instead of mechanically stretching it, will produce the same beneficial effect of improving colonic motility. Therefore, this study will compare the two methods. If electrical stimulation effectively improves colonic motility, then the investigator shall develop the approach as a therapeutic intervention in future studies.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT06078176

Run by

VA Office of Research and Development

People needed

12

Starts

2024-05-01

Expected to finish

2026-12-31

Last updated by the study team

2026-04-13

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Suprasacral spinal cord injury
• Diagnosed neurogenic bowel dysfunction and using digital rectal stimulation
• Bowel routine requires at least 30 minutes or at least 3 cycles of digital rectal stimulation
• Neurologically stable
• At least 18 years old
• At least 12 months post neurological injury or disease diagnosis

You may not qualify if…

• Active sepsis
• Open pressure sores on or around pelvis
• Significant colon trauma or colostomy
• Crohn's disease
• Colonic obstruction or gastrointestinal surgery within last 3 months
• Significant history of autonomic dysreflexia

Where it is running

• Syracuse VA Medical Center, Syracuse, NY — Syracuse, New York, United States (enrolling)

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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