If you suffer from poor overall health, abdominal bloating or chronic constipation, you may want to learn more about bodily detoxification with colonics to determine if one would enhance your overall health. Although numerous natural health practitioners perform colonics in clinics throughout the U.S., you should speak with your doctor before you undergo a colonic to ensure that the procedure will be a safe treatment option for you, based upon your individual health concerns.
Identification
Colonics, also called colon irrigation therapy, colon hydrotherapy or hydro-colon therapy, are bodily detoxification practices administered by colon therapists or colon hygienists to participating clients in natural health clinics. Colonic proponents believe that removing accumulated waste, such as fecal matter, from your colon will accelerate your body's natural healing abilities and help you recover from illness or achieve a state of better overall health, according to the American Cancer Society.
Methodology
When you receive a colonic, your colon hygienist inserts a speculum, attached to a long waste-disposal tube, into your rectum. The hygienist then turns on the colon hydrotherapy machine, which fills your rectum and your colon with warm filtered water. As your colon fills up with the water, the water pushes fecal matter out of your colon and into the waste disposal tube, says Cheryl Ashby, certified colonic therapist, on ColonHealth.net. Ashby says the process, which takes about 45 minutes, transports 25 to 35 gallons of water throughout your colon in timed increments to gently dislodge accumulated waste from your colon, and that one colonic can rid your body of fecal matter equivalent to 20 or 30 bowel movements.
Considerations
Your colon therapist can also perform relaxation techniques, abdominal massage, reflexology or breathing exercises to elevate your comfort level throughout the process, Ashby says. After your session, your colon therapist will suggest a regular colonic detox maintenance schedule based upon your individual health status, Ashby adds.
Clinical Data
In a study performed by head researcher S.M. Koch at the Department of Colorectal Surgery at University Hospital Maastricht in Maastricht, The Netherlands, 39 patients suffering from constipation, fecal incontinence or both ailments were placed into three separate groups based upon their symptoms. All participants received colonic therapy at predetermined intervals over a 12-month period, and were asked to fill out a questionnaire about their experiences after three, six and 12 months.
The researchers found that in Group A, fecal incontinence decreased after three, six and 12 months; in Group B, the feeling of incomplete fecal evacuation decreased during the overall trial period, and in Group C, three out of 10 patients reported improvement in constipation. Therefore, the researchers concluded that colonic irrigation therapy is an effective treatment for defecation disorders, as published in the 2008 article, "Prospective Study of Colonic Irrigation for the Treatment of Defecation Disorders," published in the British Journal of Surgery.
Warning
According to the American Cancer Society, colon therapy can be a dangerous alternative health practice. Illness and death have been reported from the use of colonics, the ACS says, because of electrolyte imbalances experienced during the colonic process, contaminated equipment and perforation of intestinal walls during the procedure. You can also experience nausea and cramps due to colonic therapy, the organization states.
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