Magic Stone Mountain

Roller coasters are fun – and have many health benefits. They’re good for asthma. Now, apparently, they’ll help you pass kidney stones.

See the headlines:
Here’s Why Kidney Stone Sufferers Should Ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Thrilling Cure: A Roller Coaster Ride Can Help Get Rid Of Kidney Stones

Got kidney stones? Ride a roller coaster! Study shows it is the most pain-free cost-efficient way to pass them

Kidney Stones? Science Suggests Heading To Disney World

And so on.

It’s just clickbait, as usual.

Now, I’m not saying the citation here isn’t on to something – but in this study, zero people pass kidney stones. Rather, a rubber ureteroscopic simulator was loaded with calcium oxalate calculi of various sizes and taken on Thunder Mountain. A few stones were shaken loose – particularly at the rear of the coaster train – and, presto! Roller coasters cure kidney stones!

Now, this may yet have some element of truth supporting anecdotal tales of stone passage while on coasters – but it’s clearly a surrogate far removed from reliable in vivo evidence.

“Validation of a Functional Pyelocalyceal Renal Model for the Evaluation of Renal Calculi Passage While Riding a Roller Coaster”
http://jaoa.org/article.aspx?articleid=2557373