The Efficacy of Functional Electrical Stimulation of the Abdominal Muscles in the Treatment of Chronic Constipation in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis: A Pilot Study

Table 3

Change at week six from baseline in the patients’ bowel habit.

Item of bowel diary	Patient 1	Patient 2	Patient 3	Patient 4
Straining to open bowels	+1	+1	+1	+1
Passing hard, lumpy stools	0	0	+1	+1
Incomplete bowel evacuation	+1	+1	+1	0
Feeling of “blockage” in bowels	0	+1	+1	+1
Use of manual evacuation of bowels	+1	0	0	0
Frequency of bowel motions	0	+1	+1	0
Number of loose stools per week	0	+1	0	0

Key: 0 = no change from baseline; +1 = significant improvement compared to baseline.