Exploring the gut-exercise link: A systematic review of gastrointestinal disorders in physical activity

Table 9 The relation between exercise and constipation

Ref.	Type of article	Age of patients included	Summary of study characteristics	Outcome
Bakonyi et al[176]	Experimental study (rats)	Middle-aged rats	Investigated effects of voluntary exercise on GI motility, spatial memory, intestinal eNOS/Akt levels, and microbiome composition	Exercise improved spatial memory and increased intestinal Akt and Bifidobacteria but did not affect GI motility
Gao et al[178]	Systematic review, meta-analysis	Adults with constipation	Analyzed effects of aerobic and anaerobic exercise on constipation symptoms from 9 RCTs involving 680 participants	Exercise significantly improved constipation symptoms, especially with aerobic activities like walking and qigong
Dolk et al[179]	Experimental study	Patients with puborectalis paradox	Evaluated effects of yoga techniques on defecation patterns in patients with puborectalis dysfunction using EMG	Training improved EMG activity in one patient but did not lead to clinical improvement for most participants
Cui et al[181]	Systematic review of cohort studies	119426 participants	Examined the relationship between physical activity and constipation in a systematic review of 13 cohort studies	Higher PA levels reduced constipation risk (RR = 0.69). Benefits were pronounced in Asian and Oceanian populations and among women

GI: Gastrointestinal; eNOS: Endothelial NO synthase; Akt: Protein kinase B; RCT: Randomized controlled trial; EMG: Electromyography; PA: Physical activity; RR: Risk ratio.