Pass Your Kidney Stone By Riding a Roller Coaster

For some, passing a kidney stone ranks as highly on the pain scale as childbirth. But what if there were a way to ride out that process by literally going for a ride?

Dr. David Wartinger, a Michigan State University urologist, professor emeritus and self-proclaimed "big fan" of Walt Disney World, wanted to find out.

Multiple patients talked to him over the years about riding a certain roller coaster at Walt Disney World to help pass kidney stones. Wanting to test that claim, Wartinger took the science of kidney stones to new heights. Disney did not sponsor him, but the park was willing to take a chance on his research, Wartinger told U.S. News.

In a pilot study, recently published in the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, Wartinger rode Big Thunder Mountain at Walt Disney World 20 times while wearing a backpack with a synthetic 3D hollow kidney model. The model contained kidney stones measuring 4 millimeters or smaller. He found that sitting in the last car had a 64 percent passage rate versus a 16 percent passage rate in the first few cars.

In an expanded follow-up study, his team found a 70 percent passage rate when sitting in the back of the roller coaster. "In all, we used 174 kidney stones of varying shapes, sizes and weights to see if each model worked on the same ride and on two other rollercoasters," Wartinger said in a statement. "Big Thunder Mountain was the only one that worked."

Wartinger told U.S. News that three specific groups could benefit from this research, by missing less work, suffering less pain and avoiding surgery. These include individuals who have a kidney stone that is smaller than 4 or 5 mm; people who have had a lithotripsy procedure, which breaks down kidney stones but could leave pieces behind that create a new one; and young women who have kidney stones (or a history of kidney stones) and are looking to get pregnant.

It could be particularly beneficial for this third group, according to Wartinger. Most surgical treatment options cannot be performed on pregnant women, and the act of passing a stone itself could even cause spontaneous miscarriage or premature labor.

Wartinger points out that no single roller coaster is a guarantee, since kidney anatomy varies from person to person, he says. Still, strapping in could be just what the doctor ordered. It could be a viable alternative to other costly treatments, which can range from $5,000 to $10,000, he adds. About 300,000 people each year visit the emergency room for kidney stones, according to estimates.

"The take-home message isn't that this particular roller coaster is the Holy Grail," he says. "What's important is that these kinds of activities can help you pass a small stone."

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David Oliver is Associate Editor, Social Media at U.S. News & World Report. Follow him on Twitter, connect with him on LinkedIn, or send him an email at doliver@usnews.com.