Toilet trouble Wiebe/Getty

Blocked up? Capsules that vibrate in the gut can help encourage bowel motions, a clinical trial has found.

Constipation is one of the most common gastrointestinal disorders, affecting up to 15 per cent of the population. The usual advice to eat fibre, exercise and take laxatives sometimes doesn’t work, leading to chronic pain and discomfort.

To address this problem, Israeli company Vibrant has developed capsules that vibrate in the large intestine to stimulate contractions and move digestive products along.

The capsules – which are the size of typical fish oil capsules – contain electronic mechanisms that …