# Rectal tension or pain



## 20327 (Jun 5, 2005)

I know, I know....we all have our own symptom that concerns us and we seek validation here, to see if others share this or if it is something to obsess about.For me, at times my colon or rectal area becomes very tense and painful and stays that way all day. Now, this is not the same as the syndrome where you wake up in the middle of the night with a cramp in your butt! This is a more subtle but annoying tension in the same area that just keeps happening all day!It began for me recently when I went into a IBS-D phase. The problem we all have is trying (if this even makes sense) to differentiate between a pure IBS symptom and our own nervous overlay of MORE symptoms due to our focus on the problem. Perhaps many of us have experienced being fine and then having a scary situation or thought arise, and IMMEDIATELY the gut reacts, and we have that fight or flight response (need to find a restroom soon). So, I am wondering if my IBS-D is probably triggering my tension in this area.It is hard to tell what is created at a subconscious level and what is overlayed by our worry and concern.


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## bonniei (Jan 25, 2001)

There is visceral hypersensitivity in the rectosigmoid area. If they inflate a balloon in the rectum IBS'ers feel more pain at lower levels of inflation which they call "lower threshold for pain". It is possible that you are suffering from this hypersensitivity to a small amount of stool or gas. They have shown that the brain reacts in a different way to this stimuli of an inflated balloon in IBS'ers compared to control. So it is the brain misperceiving it rather than it being all in the mind and no objective verification of it. Ofcourse stress can change the tone of the rectum too. If you had constipation and the tightening of the sphincters contributed to you being unable to defecate, which happens in some, then it is called anismus.Read about some of the problems in that area"Levator Ani Syndrome - The levator ani muscle forms a major portion of the pelvic floor muscle group. This condition is marked by continual discomfort in portions of the anal canal and can extend throughout the pelvic region and into the vagina. Some patients have described the feeling associated with levator ani syndrome as having the anal canal pulled in knots, or feeling there is a hard object, like a golf ball, in the anal canal. Women with levator ani syndrome often complain of pain or discomfort with intercourse. Some people with this condition also report pain or muscle spasm that extends across the buttocks, down the legs and up into the lower back.Coccydinia - This condition is marked by pain around the coccyx or tailbone. People sometimes refer to the sensations associated with this disorder as a feeling that the tailbone is "on fire."Pelvic Floor Tension Myalgia - This is another term referring to pain and discomfort associated with the three syndromes described above.Anismus - This condition is marked by the failure to relax or, a paradoxical contraction of the pelvic floor muscles with defecation. "Paradoxical contraction" refers to the abnormal increase of pelvic floor muscle activity with defecation rather than the normal decrease in muscle activity. This condition can contribute to some forms of constipation, complaints of incomplete evacuation and straining with stool".http://www.aboutincontinence.org/PelvicFloor.html


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## 17176 (Mar 31, 2005)

healthwise i get these kinds of pain too, it can be very sore


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## Guest (Jun 7, 2005)

my god - how intriguing - this has been bothering me from nowhere for about 3 days - actually it almost seems muscular but up in the butt "cheeks" if you see what I mean. These symptoms are bizarre aren't they. But if you are tensing up as you do a bowel movement that'd make sense wouldn't it. I wouldn't worry too much.Sue, Manchester


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