A doctor was inspired to study the roller coaster treatment
after seeing multiple patients who had passed kidney stones after riding roller
coasters at amusement parks. One patient passed kidney stones after each of
three consecutive rides on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad roller coaster at
Disney World in Florida. (Apparently bungee jumping can have the same effect.)
To test the effect of a roller coaster, the scientists
created a 3-D model of the ureter, bladder, and other appropriate parts and
filled them with urine and kidney stones (calcium oxalate), then took the simulator off to
Disney World and the Big Thunder Mountain roller coaster. (The journal article
notes that “care was taken to protect and preserve the enjoyment of the other
guests at the park.”) The stones were shaken loose!
The scientists’ conclusion
was that moderate-intensity, rattling coasters can be effective at dislodging
little kidney stones (five millimeters or less in diameter) from the outer
ducts of the kidney and propelling them toward the ureter (the tube that
connects the bladder to the kidneys). “The idea is to displace these little
stones before they become big stones and cause a lot of pain and suffering,”
said David Wartinger, a professor emeritus at Michigan State University who was
an author of the study.
More than 300,000 Americans seek emergency care for
kidney stones a year, mostly because of severe pain from having a large kidney
stone stuck in their ureter. By this time, it’s too late. You’ve got to ride the roller coaster prophylactically, that is, before you’re having the painful symptoms.
If you’re a kidney stone sufferer, perhaps a yearly ride on a roller coaster
would be just the thing. Shake those stones down before they get too
big. Oh…and choose a seat in the back where it’s bumpier.
For an introduction to this blog, see I Just Say No; for a list of blog topics, click the Topics tab.
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