Health · Fitness & Nutrition · 7 hrs ago
Constipation may contribute to lower back pain, but the link is indirect
Constipation and lower back pain can happen together, but one does not necessarily cause the other.
Dr Santhosh Rajendran, a gastroenterologist at SIMS Hospital in Chennai, says severe constipation may stretch the bowel and cause pain that is felt in the lower back.
Straining and sitting hunched on the toilet for a long time can also put extra stress on the back.
The symptoms may instead share another cause, including some medical conditions, pregnancy or a spinal disorder.
New bowel problems with back pain need prompt medical attention if they come with numbness around the buttocks or inner thighs, trouble urinating, or pain, weakness or numbness in both legs.
These signs can point to cauda equina syndrome, a serious condition involving pressure on nerves in the lower spine.
A physician can assess these symptoms.
Constipation may indirectly contribute to lower back pain through straining, bowel distension, prolonged toilet sitting or pelvic floor dysfunction.
A gastroenterologist cautioned that having constipation and back pain at the same time does not prove that one causes the other.
The symptoms may also have a shared underlying cause, including some health conditions or pregnancy.
New bowel problems with back pain and certain nerve or bladder symptoms may signal cauda equina syndrome and need medical assessment.
- Who
- People experiencing constipation and lower back pain; Dr Santhosh Rajendran, a gastroenterologist, explained the possible link.
- What
- Constipation may indirectly contribute to lower back pain, but the symptoms occurring together do not establish causation.
- When
- Not stated
- Where
- The explanation was given by a junior consultant in gastroenterology at SIMS Hospital, Chennai.
- Why
- Straining, bowel distension, prolonged slouched toilet sitting or pelvic floor dysfunction may contribute to pain; the symptoms may also have another shared cause.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
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- Possible link
- Constipation may contribute indirectly to lower back pain
- Possible mechanisms
- Straining, bowel distension, prolonged toilet sitting and pelvic floor dysfunction
- Expert
- Dr Santhosh Rajendran
- Hospital and city
- SIMS Hospital, Chennai
- Warning condition
- Cauda equina syndrome
What people are saying
Association here tells you very little about causation
The mechanism that is understood is usually because of referred visceral pain. The afferents from the distal colon usually enter the spinal cord around the thoracic region and the sacral region, and the viscerosomatic convergence means colonic distension is felt in the lumbosacral region.
Sources
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