Levator Ani Syndrome
What is Levator Ani Syndrome?
The pain of levator ani syndrome is caused by a spasm in the levator ani muscle.
Pain may radiate to the hips, tailbone, or other areas such as clitoris, pelvis, testicles, and lower abdomen.This pain is usually unrelated to a bowel movement, and there appears to be no structural abnormalities or underlying conditions responsible for the symptoms.
Levator Ani consists of:
- Puborectalis
- Pubococcygeus
- Iliococcygeus
Spasm in the Puborectalis (one part of the Levator ani muscle) may cause chronic constipation, hemorrhoids (internal/external), and pain. Spasm in the Pubococcygeus/Iliococcygeus cause coccyx/tailbone pain that gets worse after movement or sitting.
The symptoms of levator ani syndrome include pain high in the rectum or urethra (especially in females) that may be:
- irregular and spontaneous
- a sense of pressure in the rectum
- felt when sitting
- relieved when standing or lying down
- unrelated to bowel movements
- severe enough to interrupt sleep
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