When pain occurs in the anus, it is necessary to understand how to recognize a spasm of the sphincter. This pathology is characterized by involuntary contractions of smooth muscles located in the anus. Today we will talk about the symptoms and treatment of this disease.
Description of disease
You can observe spasms with anus injuries, the presence of diseases of the rectum, vegetative disorders. Violation of the intestines and colic can also lead to the development of pathology. This ailment is also called rectal sphincteritis, since its symptoms are similar to hemorrhoids, but sphincter insufficiency can still be observed. During an illness, a person will experience pain in the anus, which can spread to the perineum, coccyx or abdomen. Pathology can be classified by duration and cause.
Classification by duration
This ailment can have a different duration. Pathology is distinguished between long-term and rapidly passing. If the diseasefleeting, you can observe a sharp pain of a stabbing or aching nature in the anus. Often, pain is given to the coccyx or hip area. The patient may complain of pain in the perineum. Patients often confuse such symptoms with kidney, prostate or genitourinary system disease.
If the spasm of the rectal sphincter does not go away for a long period, severe pain bothers you, and sometimes even painkillers do not help, then you should urgently go to the hospital. After some time, the pain may go away on its own, but then return with greater force. The factors leading to such a pathology are often hidden in the psychological and emotional state of a person (psychological disorders, frequent stress, etc.). It should be noted that it is incredibly difficult to cope with this disease on your own, and you need to seek the advice of a proctologist to prescribe the correct treatment.
Classification by reason of occurrence
Depending on the cause of the disease, experts distinguish secondary and primary proctalgia. Primary is very rare and develops due to neurotic spasms of the coccygeal muscle and anus. Secondary proctalgia develops with concomitant pathologies of the rectum: tumors, fissures and hemorrhoids that occur in the anal canal. You should not delay contacting a doctor and conducting a diagnosis for the timely elimination of symptoms of a disease such as spasm.anal sphincter.
Causes of occurrence
To identify the cause of spasms, you first need to understand the functions and structure of the anus. The sphincter is internal and external, its external part is made up of many receptor cells that influence and control the act of defecation. The inner part is fibrous. This muscle is smooth muscle, having an annular shape, and it cannot be controlled by a person. The interior helps keep gas and stool out. If the musculature and all internal muscles are damaged, sphincter insufficiency and spasm will occur.
Determining the source of the disease and knowing how to relax the rectal sphincter is very important. Most often, this disease affects the elderly due to weak muscles. An unstable emotional state leads to the manifestation of a spasm, and therefore this ailment often becomes a companion of women prone to hysterical seizures. Also, sphincteritis occurs in the presence of injuries of the anus, for example, as a result of pancreatitis, duodenal ulcers, fissures, gallstones, tumors, hemorrhoids and hemorrhoids.
All these reasons are classified as secondary proctalgia. They lead to disturbances in the area of the anal passage and a change in the organic state. Such reasons include trauma to the anus during operations in the anus or difficult childbirth. It happens that the increased localization of nerve endings in the region of the anus hides the focus of spasms.
Sphincter spasm: main symptoms
Depending on the type of pathology, pain can be of a different nature and intensity. Sometimes painful sensations disturb not only the anus, but also extend to the perineum, coccygeal zone and hip joints. Most often, pain occurs during bowel movements, but there are times when it bothers just like that. After a warm bath or a bowel movement, pain may disappear.
Spasm of the rectal sphincter also occurs with prolonged stress. Complicate the situation of experiencing the patient after the onset of manifestations of sphincteritis. If a person cannot empty himself normally, he may develop a mental disorder, as a result of which the patient will be emotionally unstable. Often you can hear from the patient complaints of severe pulling pains or colic. Since the painful sensations are strong enough, a person is lost in determining their exact location and may perceive them as a disease of the genitourinary system and begin treatment for a completely different ailment. With timely therapy, pain symptoms can be eliminated very quickly.
What other symptoms of sphincter spasm are there? If spasms occur due to hemorrhoids, the presence of a fissure or other diseases, as well as trauma to the anus, pain is associated with the act of defecation. It occurs from the moment the desire to go to the toilet appears and can last for a day. The patient begins to be afraid of the process of emptying and tries to endure, postpone it, thereby causing constipation. The most importanthere - immediately consult a doctor at the first symptoms and start treatment in time so that the insufficiency of the sphincter leading to spasms is eliminated.
Diagnosis
First, the specialist should ask what the patient is complaining about in order to find out what kind of lifestyle he leads and what is the cause of the disease. Maybe a person has bowel disease, or he is tormented by constant colic, which will cause the appointment of complex treatment. Often, injuries that have been received earlier can serve as the root cause of spasms. The doctor must find out if the patient has diseases of the nervous system, mental disorders, pathologies of the genitourinary system or rectum.
When the focus of the disease is primary proctalgia associated with spasm of the smooth muscles of the internal organs, the patient may unknowingly turn to the wrong specialist and receive incorrect treatment. First of all, with pain in the sphincter or colic in the anus, it is necessary to contact a proctologist. The specialist will examine the anus and in-depth study of the walls of the rectum through rectoscopy. If necessary, a colonoscopy of the colon will be scheduled. The patient may be referred to a psychotherapist or psychologist if the doctor notices mental disorders.
Sphincter spasm treatment
Treatment is given according to the symptoms present and the course of the disease. Under no circumstances should you engage in self-treatment, therapy and diagnostics should be prescribed by experiencedspecialist. If the sphincteritis has become aggravated or lasts long enough, you will have to resort to surgical intervention. At the initial stage, drug therapy or treatment with folk remedies aimed at relieving pain may be suitable.
Conservative Therapy
Such treatment is aimed at eliminating both the symptoms and the focus of the disease. Medications will help stop mucosal defects and inflammation, and in order to reduce spasms, painkillers and antispasmodics are prescribed. In case of complications, the doctor may prescribe medications with light antibiotics in the composition. To eliminate constipation, you need to take laxatives, but you should not abuse them.
During therapy, rectal ointments or suppositories are used ("Ultraproject", "Proctoglivenol", "Relief Advance" and others). In addition, there are suppositories with natural ingredients - sea buckthorn, belladonna. Warm baths can help relieve cramps and help you relax. Also, the doctor may prescribe microclysters with anti-inflammatory oil agents and electrosleep. Constipation may appear in connection with intestinal dysbacteriosis or colic, and therefore they should be treated. Spasm of the sphincter of the bladder is also possible. This is also pretty annoying. As a result, urine is thrown into the ureters, which causes inflammation.
Do not forget about personal hygiene: washing the anus in the morning and evening and after each emptying, so that the toilet paper does not irritate or injuremucous. Diet is an important factor. It is necessary to reduce the consumption of allergenic foods, smoked meats, s alty, spicy, eggs, cottage cheese, meat and fish to a minimum so as not to irritate the mucous membrane of the digestive tract. It is also worth giving up fried and fatty foods, fruits and raw vegetables (carrots, apples, cabbage, potatoes, strawberries and plums). Need to know how to relieve sphincter spasm.
Surgical therapy
In the absence of the result of the use of conservative therapy and the continuation of spasms and insufficiency of the sphincter, you will have to resort to surgical intervention. This procedure is called a sphincterotomy. It is carried out with the help of a partial dissection of the muscles of the external sphincter, which causes relaxation of the smooth muscles. To a greater extent, this procedure is prescribed to relieve pain.
Such an operation is performed when there is a spasm of the sphincter of Oddi - a muscular valve located in the duodenum. It is also called postcholecystectomy syndrome, as a result of which the normal outflow of bile is disrupted.
Folk methods
Traditional medicine uses heat baths and herbal enemas. An enema is best prepared using chamomile. Warm baths with the addition of a certain amount of potassium permanganate have a good effect. However, do not forget that it is better to use folk remedies after the permission of the doctor in order to avoid causing even more harm to he alth.
