What the Pressure in Your Rectum Could Mean — Boston Urogyn

Few things are more essential to living than eating. Healthy food provides your body with the nutrients and fuel you need to function.

When you eat, the food goes on a journey through the digestive tract, which absorbs the nutrients and eliminates the waste. Food starts its journey in your mouth and winds through your stomach and intestines until it reaches your rectum and leaves through your anus. 

Problems with digestion can happen at any point along your digestive tract. But if you’re feeling pressure in your rectum, it could indicate something serious that needs medical attention.

At locations in Wellesley and Hudson, Massachusetts, Dr. Neeraj Kohli and the skilled medical team at BostonUrogyn can help if you’re dealing with rectal pressure as well as a variety of urogynecological needs.

The digestive process

The food you eat works its way through your esophagus (the food tube) to your stomach. From there, your stomach starts its work. Enzymes and acids break down food so your body can use the nutrients. 

Once done there, the next stop is the small intestine. Here the breaking down process continues and the nutrients get absorbed into your bloodstream. The pancreas, liver, and gallbladder absorb, digest, and process food broken down in your small intestine.

Then the colon (or large intestine) processes the waste. It starts in liquid form, and as it passes, the water is removed. It’s stored until enough waste has gathered in the rectum for you to pass it through your anus.

Possible causes of rectal pressure

Your rectum is essentially the last section of your large intestine. Many factors might cause discomfort or pressure in that area. These factors include:

Constipation

Constipation is when stool dries and hardens and is difficult to pass. It often results from dehydration, medications, inactivity, or stress.

Diarrhea

Diarrhea happens when the stool doesn’t solidify in your colon. It can be caused by bacteria, allergies, stress, or even parasitic infection.

Hemorrhoids

Hemorrhoids are swollen veins in your rectum and anus caused by straining while defecating, obesity, pregnancy, or anal sex.

Anal fissure

An anal fissure is a small tear in the anal tissue caused by straining to defecate, trauma from constipation, or an underlying problem.

Coccydynia

This type of tailbone pain comes from an inflamed or bruised coccyx stemming from injury.

Anal cancer

Anal cancer can cause anal bleeding along with pain and itchiness.

Diverticulitis

This condition results from small pouches (diverticula) in your colon bulging and becoming inflamed.

Inflammatory bowel disease

IBD refers to chronic conditions that include ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.

Treating rectal pressure might involve a simple fix like taking laxatives, eating more fiber, or drinking more water. More severe cases might require medications or even surgery.

Pressure in your rectum might be embarrassing to discuss with your doctor, but it’s important for your health to get it checked out. If you’re dealing with rectal distress, call Dr. Kohli and BostonUrogyn today or book your appointment online.

Rectal pain and pressure: Causes, diagnosis, and more

Rectal pressure can make a person feel like they have poop stuck in their anus. Pressure in the rectum can be uncomfortable or even painful. Possible causes range from constipation to an abscess.

The rectum is the final portion of the large intestine. Stool travels through it before exiting the anus. The rectum is close to many other pelvic organs and typically sits next to the lower backbone or sacrum.

Pressure in this area may cause generalized discomfort or a feeling that poop, or stool, is stuck in their anus.

If a person experiences rectal pressure, it is a good idea to talk with a doctor about potential causes and treatment options. Some people may feel embarrassed about telling their doctor, but there is no need to, as it is a common symptom of many treatable problems.

The possible causes of rectal pressure include:

Constipation

Constipation is when a person has difficulty passing stool or passes stool less frequently than usual.

When a person has constipation, their stool may become hard and dry, which can increase feelings of pressure in the rectum.

Common symptoms of constipation include:

• feeling as if the bowels have not emptied
• having three bowel movements or less a week
• having stool that is lumpy, dry, or hard
• straining when going to the bathroom

While everyone experiences occasional constipation, chronic constipation can be uncomfortable and may be due to another gastrointestinal condition.

Learn more about chronic constipation here.

Hemorrhoids

Hemorrhoids are swollen veins that develop in the rectum or around the anal opening.

While external hemorrhoids around the anal opening are usually visible or a person can feel them, they cannot usually tell when they have internal hemorrhoids in the rectum.

In addition to rectal pressure, hemorrhoid symptoms include:

• burning when having a bowel movement
• itching around the rectal area
• small amounts of blood on toilet paper after passing stool

In the United States, hemorrhoids affect around 1 in 20 adults and around half of people over 50.

A person has a greater chance of developing hemorrhoids when they are pregnant, if they have a history of constipation, and as they age.

Learn how long hemorrhoids last here.

Anal abscess or fistula

An anal abscess is a pus-filled area around the anus. An abscess can occur when an anal gland becomes blocked, and bacteria multiply.

If left untreated, an anal abscess can develop into a fistula. The fistula creates a tunneled area between the abscess and the buttocks.

Symptoms of an anal abscess or fistula include:

• foul-smelling discharge from the anus
• fever
• pain in the rectum
• swelling of the anus

People with Crohn’s disease are at greater risk of developing an anal abscess or fistula. Sometimes, a fistula may require surgical treatment.

Learn more about a Crohn’s disease fistula here.

Anal fissure

An anal fissure occurs when a portion of the lining in the rectum or anus tears. Having a large bowel movement or passing stool forcefully can cause this tear.

In addition to rectal pressure, a person may experience rectal bleeding and pain, particularly when having another bowel movement.

Learn about bumps on the anus here.

Fecal incontinence

Fecal incontinence occurs when a person cannot control when they have a bowel movement. They may accidentally pass stool before they reach a toilet. Chronic constipation, nerve damage, or muscle injury can lead to incontinence.

In addition to rectal pressure, a person may pass mucus. The stool is often loose and diarrhea-like.

This condition can greatly affect a person’s quality of life, but many treatments are available to reduce or stop symptoms.

Learn more about diarrhea here.

Prostatitis

Prostatitis is a condition that occurs when the prostate, which is a small gland that helps produce semen, becomes inflamed. Prostatitis is usually due to a bacterial infection, but sometimes, the cause is unknown.

As well as rectal pressure, prostatitis can cause symptoms, including:

• blood in the urine
• difficulty urinating
• a constant urge to urinate
• nausea
• pain between the scrotum and anus
• pain in the penis
• painful ejaculation
• vomiting

Treatments for prostatitis depend upon the underlying cause.

Learn more about the prostate gland here.

Rectal prolapse

A rectal prolapse occurs when the rectum slides out of the anus and turns inside out. This happens when the muscles that keep it in place weaken.

A person with rectal prolapse may feel something falling out of their rectum when they have a bowel movement. Sometimes, a person may mistake rectal prolapse for hemorrhoids.

Additional symptoms associated with rectal prolapse include:

• difficulty feeling when they need to pass stool
• incontinence, or passing stool accidentally
• mucus coming from the rectum
• painful bowel movements

Without treatment, rectal prolapse can worsen over time.

Learn about proctitis or inflammation of the lining of the rectum here.

Ulcerative colitis

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that causes inflammation and ulcers in the large intestine, including the rectum.

The condition is chronic, so a person with UC will learn to manage flare-ups but may also experience times without symptoms when it is in remission.

Signs that a person may have UC include:

• abdominal cramping
• anemia
• appetite loss
• blood or pus in the stool
• fatigue
• fever
• nausea

While doctors do not know what causes UC, they know people with a family history of IBD are more likely to develop it.

Learn more about IBD in our dedicated hub here.

Other causes of rectal pain

A person may experience varying forms of rectal pain for many reasons, including:

• proctalgia fugax
• levator ani syndrome
• direct impact injuries
• infection
• tissue growth in the rectum

Learn more about rectal pain here.

To diagnose the cause of rectal pressure, a doctor will take a person’s health history and ask about their symptoms. They may ask when a person first noticed the pressure and if anything makes it worse or better.

A doctor will usually perform a physical examination of the rectum. They may insert a gloved finger to see if they can feel any abnormalities, such as hemorrhoids.

A doctor may also recommend further tests to examine the rectum. This includes inserting an instrument called an anoscope or a sigmoidoscope.

These thin pieces of equipment with a camera and light on the end allow a doctor to see the inside of the intestine to view any problems.

A doctor may also use imaging studies, such as X-rays, CT scans, or MRI scans, to identify irregularities, for example, tumors, abscesses, or fistulas.

Other diagnostic tests include anorectal manometry, which measures the average pressure in a person’s rectum.

Learn more about colorectal cancer here.

A person should see a doctor if rectal pressure becomes a regular occurrence.

If they experience signs of acute infection or bleeding, they should seek medical attention as soon as possible.

Learn about when constipation becomes an emergency here.

Rectal pressure is a common symptom of many different conditions. Unless rectal pressure is due to occasional constipation, people should consult a doctor for a diagnosis.

A doctor can recommend effective treatments for rectal pressure and provide advice and medications to prevent it from happening.

Read this article in Spanish.

Foreign body sensation in anus and rectum

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Sensation of a foreign body in the rectum is a complex of symptoms, including discomfort, itching and other unpleasant sensations in the anus. These symptoms are signs of various pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract.

Causes

An unpleasant sensation of the presence of something in the intestine appears due to irritation of the receptors of the autonomic nervous system, which are located in the rectum. This occurs with trauma, the presence of a solid body in the lumen, inflammation of the mucosa, hemorrhoids.

Among the common causes of rectal discomfort:

• Blood clots in the pelvic veins and hemorrhoids. Foreign body sensation caused by enlarged veins
• Complication of paraproctitis. With this pathology, the intestinal tissues swell, the nerve fibers become more sensitive, which causes discomfort
• Formation of papillomas and crypts
• Mechanical trauma to the mucosa
• Malignant neoplasms
• Diabetes mellitus
• Uterine fibroids (in women)
• Prostate adenoma and prostatitis (in men)
• Viral hepatitis
• Cirrhosis of the liver
• Disorders of the nervous system
• Pregnancy
• Intestinal dysbacteriosis

Clinical picture

The severity and duration of the symptom depends on the specific disease that caused it.
For example, with hemorrhoids, patients feel bouts of discomfort of varying intensity. The pain is aggravated by sitting. Oncology, at first, does not cause any particular discomfort, but as the disease progresses, the discomfort intensifies. The pain is constant, regardless of the position of the body.
If a foreign body sensation appears after a fiber-enriched meal, inflammation in the colon is most likely the cause.
In the presence of neoplasms, in most cases, the symptom is accompanied by blood in the stool. However, blood also appears with hemorrhoids and with an anal fissure.
In any case, to make a diagnosis, it is necessary to undergo a complex of examinations.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis is primarily aimed at identifying the disease that caused the unpleasant symptom. To do this, the proctologist may prescribe the following types of studies:

• biochemistry and complete blood count
• colonoscopy
• biopsy
• barium enema
• sigmoidoscopy
• computed tomography, etc.

Treatment

In order to relieve the patient of the sensation of a foreign body in the anus, the specialist prescribes treatment against the original disease. For example, if a symptom is caused by inflammation, then the patient is prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs: suppositories, tablets, ointments.
Surgical treatment is used with the ineffectiveness of conservative methods and with an acute form of pathology that requires immediate action. Basically, this approach is required by oncological diseases, complications and severe forms of paraproctitis, hemorrhoids.

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How to prepare for an appointment with a proctologist

Contents

1. Introduction
2. When you need to make an appointment with a proctologist
3. Why you need preparation before taking
4. What to do before taking

Usually a visit to the doctor does not require special preparation, the maximum is to take a shower and brush your teeth. But if you have a proctologist appointment scheduled, then you will need to pay more attention to the preparation, since not only your own comfort depends on this, but also the accuracy of the diagnosis.

Coloproctologist deals with the detection and treatment of diseases of the rectum. It is recommended to visit this specialist at least once a year for people over 45 years of age, as well as for those who have complaints characteristic of proctological pathologies or are at risk for them.

When to make an appointment with a proctologist

The most common reason for visiting a doctor of this specialty is hemorrhoids. The reason that this disease is so common in a large number of provoking factors. The lack of movement in everyday life, for example, sedentary work, and heavy physical exertion, and regular constipation, and even pregnancy, can also affect the development of hemorrhoids. In addition to hemorrhoids, patients often experience anal fissures, which are damage to the intestinal mucosa. Many complain of anal itching – this is not an independent disease, but one of the symptoms that occur against the background of many pathologies of the rectum. Any change in the state should not be ignored, since proctological diseases are quite insidious, they can quickly grow into complications, and also lead to the development of malignant neoplasms. The sooner the diagnosis is made, the cause is found and treatment is prescribed, the higher the chance of recovery.

You need to visit a doctor if you notice the following characteristic symptoms:

• Pain in the rectum and anus
• Perianal pruritus
• Detection of prolapsed hemorrhoids and enlargement of external hemorrhoids located around the anus
• Appearance of warts in the perianal area
• Bleeding during and after defecation, traces of blood on toilet paper and linen
• Difficulty defecation, pain during bowel movements
• Burning sensation in anus.

The symptomatic picture of most proctological pathologies is similar, and hemorrhoids and colorectal cancer can manifest themselves in the same way up to a certain point. That is why, when unpleasant sensations appear, it is necessary to undergo an examination and accurately establish their source, self-medication without making a diagnosis will only temporarily alleviate the condition.

Why preparation is needed before taking

The rectum in the human body is responsible for the accumulation, formation and excretion of feces, which is why its examination requires prior bowel cleansing. If the intestines are emptied, the patient will be able to feel confident, there will be no awkward moments during the examination. The empty rectum allows for digital examination and instrumental examination: anoscopy and sigmoidoscopy. In this case, the doctor will be able to assess the condition of the tissues, detect anal fissures and neoplasms, consider the size and location of the hemorrhoidal plexuses. Finger examination includes examination of the perineum from the outside, examination of the anus and palpation of the rectum from the inside. For anoscopy and sigmoidoscopy, appropriate optical equipment equipped with illumination is used. The anoscope allows you to study the state of the intestine to a depth of 6-8 centimeters, rectostop – up to 25 cm. The difference is only in the amount of diagnostic capabilities. Anoscopy is usually used for the initial treatment of the patient in connection with hemorrhoids, but rectoscopy is prescribed if there is a suspicion of high anal fissures and other pathologies of the intestine.

If the patient’s condition is acute and he needs help immediately, then the preparation is usually neglected. The doctor will make efforts to relieve the patient’s pain, however, further diagnostic measures are possible only after a full examination with preliminary preparation. The purpose of the preparation is to cleanse the intestines, prevent excessive gas formation and take care of the hygiene of the perianal zone.

What to do before taking

So how do you prepare for your appointment with a coloproctologist? First of all, you need to start by choosing the time and date. For women of childbearing age, it is necessary to schedule a visit to the clinic, correlating it with your menstrual cycle. It is optimal not to undergo an examination during menstruation, but to wait for it to end. Of course, if the critical days are taken by surprise, then it is not worth canceling the appointment with the specialist, but then it will be more of an advisory nature, it will not be possible to carry out a full diagnosis and therapeutic measures. Any patient should make sure that he has enough time to prepare for the visit to the doctor and the visit itself, that is, if the appointment is scheduled for the morning, then it is better to free up the evening before.

The day before the trip to the doctor, you need to review the menu and remove from it everything that can cause indigestion, fasten or soften the feces too much, and provoke excessive gas formation. Various products have this effect, for example, muffins, legumes, cruciferous, soda, mushrooms, alcohol. It is better if the food is based on light and fatty soups, cereals, boiled or stewed meat, cooked vegetables. You should not get carried away with fruits, sweets, pickles. Each person knows their individual reactions to certain categories of products, this should also be taken into account when preparing, try to exclude from the diet everything that can disrupt digestion and cause flatulence.

Dinner on the eve of the appointment with the doctor should be light and not too plentiful. In the morning before the visit, you can easily have breakfast, you need to calculate the time correctly, the last meal should not be later than 3-4 hours before the examination by the proctologist. There are no liquid restrictions, you can drink clean water and any non-carbonated drinks. An adequate drinking regimen will also ensure optimal stool consistency and help prevent constipation.

An important part of the preparation is bowel cleansing. This can be done in different ways, it is better for the patient to choose the one that seems most comfortable to him. The traditional method is an enema using Esmarch’s mug, but it is not suitable for everyone, since the use of this device requires certain skills, and sometimes outside help. Esmarch’s mug is a container made of plastic or flexible rubber, the volume of which is about two liters, a flexible hose with a thin tip is attached to it, it is inserted directly into the anus. The device is secured by hanging on a suitable support, while the person is below the container, which creates a pressure difference and allows the liquid to fill the intestines by gravity. Water should be boiled and at a comfortable temperature, ordinary tap water is not suitable. Hot water can harm the mucous membranes, too cold can cause spasm. The water from the enema softens the feces and allows them to completely pass out of the intestine. Usually they put such an enema twice – in the evening the day before and immediately a couple of hours before the doctor’s appointment. If the patient has constipation, then the preparation should be started even earlier and the number of enemas should be increased.

Some of the patients prefer to use laxatives, but this is rather undesirable, since it is difficult to calculate the dosage and predict how soon the cleansing effect will come. Sometimes, in response to taking a laxative, diarrhea develops, which is difficult to cope with. In addition, these funds have a number of health contraindications, so not all patients can resort to them.

A convenient alternative to a regular enema or taking laxatives is special microclysters. This is a progressive solution for preparing the body for an appointment with a coloproctologist, it is simple and comfortable. A microclyster is a ready-made small tube with special compositions inside, the contents are injected into the rectum, the result of cleansing can be observed after 5-10 minutes. Usually, for a quality bowel movement, you need to repeat the microclyster a couple of hours before meeting with the doctor. In many ways, microclysters are more convenient – the patient can easily cope with their introduction himself, there is no need to wait a long time for the effect, the result is predictable, and cleansing is gentle and comfortable. Often, due to a busy schedule, people have to prepare for an appointment with a proctologist not at home, but, for example, while at work. Micro enema in this case will be the ideal solution.

The final stage of preparatory measures is hygiene procedures. The perineal area must be washed with water and an intimate hygiene product, you can use the most common toilet soap or wet wipes with a safe composition without alcohol.

Many are concerned about the question, do I need to take a diaper or towel with me? If you have chosen a commercial clinic as a place for consultation, then it takes care of all the issues of providing interest with the necessary consumables. This means that the doctor will provide you with everything that will make the procedure comfortable and hygienic, such as a disposable diaper, wipes, gown or underwear. Often, in order for the patient to feel less shy and feel more confident during the examination, he is offered a blanket.

Pregnant women should report the fact of pregnancy to the doctor before taking it, as this is a temporary restriction for certain diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.

If the patient is indicated for colonoscopy, then preparation for it should be carried out separately, since this endoscopic intervention involves a deeper examination of the intestine, and, accordingly, the cleansing should be more thorough. Colonoscopy allows not only to examine the intestines and detect pathologies, but also to simultaneously perform an operation to remove polyps.

Proper preparation is the key to successful and informative diagnostics, which will be comfortable for both the patient and the doctor.

Questions and Answers

If the patient is not disturbed by anything and there is no genetic predisposition to vascular diseases in the anamnesis, then at least once in 5 years. In the presence of any discomfort or pronounced symptoms of diseases of the anus, you should immediately see a doctor.

No. Modern medicine is aimed at maximum patient comfort. Therefore, the procedures are done on modern equipment, which allows the diagnosis to be made as painlessly as possible. In some cases, pain is the reason for postponing the procedure for a period of remission.

Peristalsis (contraction) moves the feces throughout the intestines. In the process, water and nutrients are absorbed by the walls. If the peristalsis is insufficient, the feces get stuck in one area. With intensive absorption of moisture by the walls of the intestine, the feces become hard. Therefore, without the normalization of intestinal motility, the amount of water drunk does not matter.