Anal pressure and ache caused by psychological issues

I have a mind body issue that causes my anal muscles or pelvic muscles to hurt. The pain is like a pressure or ache inside my back passage. It is there constantly but it goes when I'm asleep, or after a few beers or even when I'm completely distracted. It is an obsession and because I suffer from anxiety it makes it hard to focus on anything else. I saw a pelvic floor physical therapist who found the location of the pain. A chronically tight muscle inside the anal canal. It is a subconscious clenching. I'm keen to hear others with this issue.

[Hidden]

They do internal and external massage and manipulation. They located the muscle which was causing me my discomfort. Its quite a specialised area. But I have been told to do this and sort out the stress side of it too. Have you heard of a similar problem to mine???? like I say it's a subconscious tensing of my anal sphincter. I'm fine if I'm asleep or had a few drinks. Went to the docs again for about the millionth time to get checked and all is well. Just muscle tension.

[johnsmith]

You need to see a doctor. Too much emphasis is sometimes put on I have caused it by some sort of mental issue ie stress. Rather than what caused the problem a faulty signal input to a muscle which has resulted in the muscle over contracting.

Over contracted muscle in the anus needs to be stretched out. This has been done by an operation in hospital under anaesthetic .

In case you are wondering I have had this. Of course stress makes the problem worse. However, blaming the issue on stress does not remove the problem. Stress exacerbates the lack of ability to handle a problem that is already in existence.

Hope this helps.

[Hidden in reply to johnsmith]

I have seen hundreds of doctors and had scans and they cannot find anything. It was my pelvic floor therapist who found the tight muscle. I do not need an operation because I can make the muscle relax completely when I am not stressed or focusing on the problem. I obviously didn't make that clear in my original post. I have got rid of this problem before. I had 18 months free from any pain or discomfort and a few months ago I had a bowel movement and felt a slight twinge. However instead of just moving on from that twinge I was INSTANTLY full of fear and was thinking oh my God don't come back. I was thinking stop thinking about it and of course as I focused more on it boom. I can be on holiday and be completely fine. I can have time with no pain and I will think to myself I havent had that pain in a while. As soon as I think that I can feel it again haha. It's so bizarre but I assure you I have had hundreds of scopes and scans and probably 100 fingers in my ass. I saw a urologist and a colorectal surgeon. Basically it is an obsession

[Hidden in reply to johnsmith]

The colorectal surgeon said it was a former of proctalgia or levator ani syndrome. Which is basically the pelvic floor muscles contracting and spasming. My problem is that I suffer from health anxiety and am constantly looking on forums and the Internet and analysing everything. I went out for a family meal on Friday. I hardly felt a thing. I had a beer and felt absolutely nothing at all.

[johnsmith in reply to Hidden]

Which came first the problem or health anxiety?

The problem causes stress which pushes you towards your stress breakdown point. It is to easy to be caught in the mental health psychosomatic trap when the solution is physical training of one sort or another.

Anxiety can be changed by changing breathing habits.

The spasms can be caused by a combination of spinal reflexes. You are looking for a mental cause when in reality there is a physical cause.

It may be worth seeing an Alexander teacher to help reduce stress by changing posture and muscle behaviour problems. Any body stress reduction will hopefully change your situation.

Learning some yoga will give you a better grasp of how your muscles behave under various conditions.

My suggestions may be right or they may be wrong. However this can only be determined by investigation.

Hope I was helpful.

[jbow7]

Hey, I know this was awhile ago but thought I'd offer my 2 cents and see if any of it helps.

I'd imagine this is a psycho-somatic thing going on and maybe possibly some past traumas or stresses or tensions that need releasing and re-patterning of the brain to take place. I would recommend energy work like meditation as a solid source of peace and calm. This can be a baseline thing. For practitioners, I would recommend looking at reiki, pelvic floor massage, lymphatic massage?, koren specific technique, accupuncture, cranio-sacral? These are just some suggestions to get you going on a path of a more comprehensive and holistic approach that may address some of the connections between mind and body and energy. Also, healing can be done through yoga courses and psychedelics if taken in a proper healing setting may offer some insights into this kind of thing.

Wishing you well and all the best.

[topscaff]

Hi hidden I've had the exact same thing, I get this pressure in my anus like a bad ache which makes you feel like you want a number 2 .I can have it for weeks at a time .Then it will subside then few months later it returns .I suffer from anxiety and stress for years I've also got disc problems degerentated disc disease .I've had loads of tests like scopes and finger job all was fine .I find if I'm doing something like d.I.y it's OK or like you said go for a night out and drink beer don't feel it.I'm sure it's as soon as you think about it then it returns it's mad .but it gets me down really annoying .though I would tell you my story pretty much the same as yoursoon.

[topscaff]

Just a thought have ever suffered from fibromyalgia because the symptoms of anxiety and depression cause muscle tension. They say it's a women's disease. But men suffer from fibromyalgia as well OK