Introduction
Have you ever experienced random shooting sharp pains coming from your lower rectum? You’re not the only one, it’s quite common! Often, it’s nothing too serious and the pain typically lasts for a few seconds or minutes – rarely 30 minutes. According to the Cleveland Clinic, Proctalgia is the pain in the anus or rectum in medical terms and fugax means “brief” in Latin. Therefore, this gastrointestinal disorder is called Proctalgia fugax (PF).
Though PF lasts briefly, it recurs over several weeks or months. The tissue of the anus isn’t damaged, but the pain would prevent many from performing their regular routines. As of 2013, the National Library of Medicine reported that the general population affected is around 8 to 18%, with a slight predominance in women. PF has been reported by as early as 18-year-olds, but the most common ages are between 30 to 60 years of age.
Causes & Symptoms
There’s no specific cause for PF. However, some studies have shown that PF can stem from muscle spasms in the pelvic floor muscles, nerve problems, or after a procedure like sclerotherapy for hemorrhoids and vaginal hysterectomy is being done. Additionally, PF can occur alongside stress, sex, menstruation, and/or bowel movement.
As mentioned before, PF can cause sharp pain to arise anytime day or night. The feeling would come from inside or near the anus area. Cleveland Clinic describes the feeling as, “like a charley horse (leg muscle spasm) that’s in your anus.”
Diagnosis
So, how do you really know if you’re diagnosed with PF? Well first, you’d have to discover if you have the more common types of anal pain and not PF. Such as, anal cancer, hemorrhoids, ulcers or abscesses, irritable bowel disease, or pelvic inflammatory disease. To realize this, share with your doctor about what the pain feels like or how long each episode lasted.
Tests that you could try including blood tests, digital rectal exam, pelvic exam, colonoscopy, flexible sigmoidoscopy, or pelvic floor tests. Not a specific test is guaranteed for your diagnosis so you might have to test several other ones on the list.
Treatment
Unfortunately, there’s no “cure” for this disorder. But there are several treatments, depending on severity, that can be done about it.
If the situation is not so severe, try some home remedies! Options are applying a heating or cooling pad to the area affected, soaking in a warm bath, taking over the counter pain relievers, and relaxation techniques like yoga or meditation. Below is a 10-minute stretching video for PF: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=XSJ-Ecn02wk
If the situation is more dire, see a healthcare provider for medicines to apply to the anus like nitroglycerin ointment, Botox injections or electrical stimulation to calm muscle contractions, and counseling/therapy to handle anxiety better since it may be related to the continuous pain.
Anyways, it’s important to still seek out professional healthcare help just in case your pain may be a part of a bigger problem. One cannot be too sure about what that sharp pain actually means!
References
Cleveland Clinic. (2024, June 7). Proctalgia Fugax. Retrieved from Cleveland Clinic: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/proctalgia-fugax
Jeyarajah, Santhini, and Sanjay Purkayastha. “Proctalgia fugax.” CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne vol. 185,5 (2013): 417. doi:10.1503/cmaj.101613
Wells, D. (2021, December 10). Proctalgia Fugax. Retrieved from Healthline: Jeyarajah, Santhini, and Sanjay Purkayastha. “Proctalgia fugax.” CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne vol. 185,5 (2013): 417. doi:10.1503/cmaj.101613 Assessed and Endorsed by the MedReport Medical Review Board
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