If you have difficulty passing stool on a regular basis, you may be constipated. Constipation means having fewer than three bowel movements per week. But the question is can constipation cause back pain, the reason is a blocked colon or rectum can result in a dull ache that radiates from your abdomen to your lower back. In some cases, back pain due to a tumor or infection can also cause constipation. If you’re experiencing lower back pain, increasing your fiber intake and drinking plenty of water can help with constipation. Over-the-counter laxatives and pain relievers can often relieve these symptoms. If you experience severe pain, blood in the stool, or any other problematic symptoms, you should see your doctor.
Conditions that Cause Lower Back Pain and Constipation
Here are given possible conditions that may lead to lower back pain and constipation together:
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease
IBD causes inflammation of intestinal layers that leads to constipation and sometimes diarrhea. The IBD most commonly includes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Moreover, recent research declared a relationship between IBD and ankylosing spondylosis that causes swelling in the spine. These associated symptoms may be an underlying source of lower back pain.
- Fecal Impaction
A fecal impaction is experienced when hard stool gets collected in the intestine. This blockage may be because of some constriction or pressing of the stool that prevents it from moving forward.
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
Irritable bowel syndrome often exhibits symptoms including severe constipation, diarrhea, or sometimes both, along with gastric bloating and painful cramps. Moreover, Lower back is a prominent symptom of IBS.
- Fibromyalgia
Individuals complaining about fibromyalgia observe hypersensitivity to pain that affects the entire body. The other issues related to fibromyalgia include sleeping, lethargy, and gastrointestinal disturbances. Lower back pain is a general symptom.
- Pancreatic Cancer
Pancreatic cancer is difficult to diagnose early as it is asymptomatic in earlier stages. Besides, as time passes, an individual may observe a range of symptoms, generally including skin irritation, back pain, gastric pain, and abdominal disorders. Treatment medications used for pancreatic cancer may have a side effect of constipation that results in lower back pain when the condition is worse.
- Endometriosis
In females who have endometriosis, tissue identical to those generally present in the linings of the uterus develops in other body parts. These parts may include the fallopian tubes, bowel area, ovaries, and urinary bladder. Recent studies suggested that the most prominent symptoms may include lower back pain, lower gastric area pain, and intense body cramps.
Other Causes of Lower Back Pain
Besides constipation, other conditions that may lead to lower back pain include the following:
- Extra weight
- Advanced age
- Poor general health
- Sedentary lifestyle
- Depression or anxiety
- Diseases like osteoarthritis, scoliosis, and cancer
How Do I Treat My Constipation and Back Pain?
If constipation is the actual cause of your back pain, the treatment plan must focus on managing constipation first. This includes treating the symptoms of the underlying source leading to constipation, like irritable bowel syndrome or fecal impaction.
The most common treatment approaches for constipation include the following:
- Add more fiber intake to your diet and hydrate your body by improving daily water intake.
- Practice techniques that train the bowel to eliminate the stool at a fixed time each day.
- Trying other drugs as alternatives to certain medicines and nutritional supplements that lead to constipation.
- For rapid relief, use over-the-counter medications, including fiber components, osmotic drugs, stool softeners, and stool stimulants.
- If the above fails, visit your healthcare experts, such as the back pain specialist in Dallas, and ask for prescriptions, including constipation medication. The most commonly prescribed include lubiprostone, linaclotide, and others.
- In most cases, biofeedback therapy is also helpful to regain control over irregular bowel movements.
- Practice exercises regularly.
- Special treatments for fecal impaction facilitate passing your stool.
- Severe cases may be recommended to pass through surgery as a treatment of constipation.
When Should You See a Doctor?
Ask for immediate medical help if you observe the following symptoms:
- Vomiting
- Stool blood
- Rectal bleeding
- Sharp pain in the abdomen
- Fever
Blood presence in stool is a scary experience that may not be serious in all cases. Sometimes, anal fissures or hemorrhoids may also be the actual reason behind this blood. However, whatever the condition may be, an expert opinion on pain management in Dallas must be considered. The presence of constipation and lower back pain may be typical for some individuals but severe for many others. So, a visit to the doctor is mandatory for severe symptoms.
Summary
When people suffer from constipation and back pain together, they have a question in mind: Can constipation cause back pain? The answer is yes. In case of having constipation and back pain together, it is advisable to consult a doctor; he will guide you best after proper diagnosis of the cause behind the problem.
