Aggravating Pelvic Floor Constipation

Constipation and the pelvic floor muscles.

Aggravating pelvic floor constipation.

Normally the pelvic floor muscles tighten to hold your urine and bowel motions in. This can happen over time during vaginal childbirth or with chronic constipation violent coughing or heavy lifting. Dehydration can lead to bowel dysfunction primarily. Common causes of constipation are.

During a biofeedback session a special tube catheter to measure muscle tension is inserted into your rectum. The therapist guides you through exercises to alternately relax and tighten your pelvic muscles. Pain medications especially narcotics antacids that contain aluminum and calcium some blood pressure medications calcium channel blockers anti parkinson drugs antispasmodics antidepressants iron supplements diuretics anticonvulsants. Previously everyone lived by.

Constipation has many causes so we need to address diet and fluid intake activity level and other habits. Stephanie talked about this in more detail in a previous blog post. Some nutrition supplements such as iron and calcium. As a pelvic floor physical therapist the first thing i offer my patients is education.

Irregular meals and not enough fiber in the diet. Relaxing your pelvic floor muscles at the right time during defecation can help you pass stool more easily. Other health problems pelvic floor dysfunction and irritable bowel syndrome. The effect also seems to improve over time up to two years.

Lack of physical activity especially in the elderly medications e g. Your pelvic floor is the group of muscles and ligaments in your pelvic region the pelvic floor acts like a. Your body needs water to stay hydrated to flush out toxins and keep your colon happy. When you sit on the toilet the pelvic floor muscles should relax so that you are able to empty your bladder or bowel.

Many things may cause constipation including. Low fiber dietary patterns. In constipation the pelvic floor muscles are tight and overactive and do not know how to relax. Constipation can play a huge role in contributing to pelvic floor dysfunction.

Anterior prolapse occurs when the pelvic floor becomes weak or if too much pressure is put on the pelvic floor. Anterior prolapse is treatable. Lifestyle factors such as low activity level. In a study of biofeedback for pelvic floor dysfunction compared to laxatives the usual treatment for constipation nearly 80 of people undergoing biofeedback had improvement in constipation compared to 22 in the laxative group.

Medicines such as antidepressents and opioids. Biofeedback training is the treatment of choice. Based on the principle of operant conditioning biofeedback provides auditory and visual feedback to help retrain the pelvic floor and relax the anal sphincter.