Levator ani syndrome is a type of nonrelaxing pelvic floor dysfunction. That means the pelvic floor muscles are too tight. The pelvic floor supports the rectum, bladder, and urethra. In women, it also supports the uterus and vagina.
Levator ani syndrome is more common in women. Its main symptom is constant or frequent dull pain in the rectum caused from a spasm in the levator ani muscle, which is near the anus. Levator ani syndrome has many other names, including:
Levator syndrome is sporadic pain in the rectum caused by spasm of a muscle near the anus (the levator ani muscle).
The cause of the spasm of the muscle near the anus is generally not known.
Pain may be brief or may last for several hours.
The diagnosis is based on an examination.
The rectum is the section of the digestive tract above the anus where stool is held before it passes out of the body through the anus.
The anus is the opening at the end of the digestive tract where stool leaves the body.
Proctalgia fugax is fleeting pain in the rectum. Coccydynia is pain near the tailbone (coccyx). Both of these disorders are variations of levator syndrome.
It is not known why the levator ani muscle spasms.
The muscle spasm causes pain that typically is not related to defecation. The pain usually lasts less than 20 minutes. Pain may be brief and intense or a vague ache high in the rectum. It may occur spontaneously or with sitting and can waken a person from sleep. The pain may feel as if it would be relieved by the passage of gas or a bowel movement.
In severe cases, the pain can persist for many hours and can recur frequently.
A person may have undergone various unsuccessful rectal operations to relieve these symptoms.
A doctor does a physical examination to rule out other painful rectal conditions (such as thrombosed hemorrhoids, fissures, or abscesses). The physical examination is often normal, but the muscle may be tender or tight.
Occasionally, the pain is caused by low back or prostate disorders.
The exact cause of levator ani syndrome is unknown. It may be related to any of the following: not urinating or passing stool when you need to vaginal shrinking (atrophy) or pain in the vulva (vulvodynia) continuing intercourse even when it’s painful injury to the pelvic floor from surgery or trauma, including sexual abuse having another type of chronic pelvic pain, including irritable bowel syndrome, endometriosis, or interstitial cystitis.
The medicines that can be thought of use are:-