This is true "alternative medicine" for the prevention of renal colic. Doctors Marc A. Mitchell and David D. Wartinger, surprised that many patients claimed to have spontaneously passed kidney stones after riding the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad roller coaster at Walt Disney World park in Orlando (USA), decided study if there really was a relationship between eliminating kidney stones naturally and having climbed this attraction before.
The findings of their study, published in The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association , confirm that depending on what type of stone you have, you may want to ride a roller coaster again and again.
When the river sounds…
The doctors decided to launch their investigation after testimonies such as that of a man who climbed the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad three times in a row and ended up expelling a stone in the same park, and other people who claimed to have done so a few hours after having climbed this attraction.
Confirmed: in many cases, it works
According to their study, riding in the last seats of this roller coaster, which combines fast descents and sharp turns, without actually turning upside down, and at a speed of 56 km / h, could help eliminate kidney stones, as long as your size is less than 6 millimeters in diameter. In fact, in the model they used for the study, 63.9% of the stones managed to be expelled.
Should you buy tickets for the park closest to your home?
Well, as the researchers say, it would be a matter of discussing it with your doctor. They have verified that stones smaller than 6 millimeters in diameter can be expelled by this method depending on where they are lodged. If they are in the lower renal pole, it is more difficult for gravity to help expel them, for example. And of course, the doctor must consider other aspects of your health, such as whether your heart can withstand a strong experience.
What if the stone is larger than 6mm?
According to the researchers, there is only a 1% chance of getting expelled. So if this is your case, go up the mountain because you like it, but not for therapeutic purposes. What is possible is that, after eliminating the stone in a more conventional way, you can prevent another from forming again by riding the roller coaster regularly to eliminate the grit that your body generates. Funny it is.
More research (and more fun)
Drs Mitchell and Wartinger, who must have had a great time getting on the roller coaster again and again with their 3D artificial kidney model in which they were checking what was happening with kidney stones of different sizes, believe that we must investigate plus. And it is that his study has been limited to a single roller coaster and has not been verified in humans, only in the 3D prototype. But it must be recognized that this can be a more fun and economical treatment route than the usual ones. Would you dare to try it?
