Men’s Bowel Health
What is good bowel control?
Having good bowel control can mean the following: being able to hold onto your urge for a short time while making it to the toilet, passing a bowel motion within minutes of sitting on the toilet without pain or straining, and the stool is not hard and dry.
What are the signs and symptoms of poor bowel health?
- Straining
- Sensation of not completely emptying the rectum
- Urgency or reduced rectal sensation
- Constipation
- Diarrhoea
- Pain with passing bowel motions
- Bleeding when passing bowel motions
- The inability to control bowels
- The inability to control wind
- Soiling on underwear
- Varied stool consistency
What are some conditions associated with poor bowel health?
- Defecation dysfunction
- Haemorrhoids
- Fissures
- Faecal incontinence
- Flatus incontinence
- Persistent pelvic pain
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome
- Inflammatory Bowel Disorders
How can Pelvic Connections help?
Physiotherapy is a first-line treatment for the management of bowel health concerns. The physiotherapists treating men’s health will take a detailed history and assessment to determine the cause of your concerns. They will provide you with education regarding your concerns, advice regarding appropriate fluid and fibre intake, defecation training; pelvic floor muscle training and strengthening any weaknesses present in the body. Our physiotherapists are also trained in providing rectal balloon sensation testing and training, EMG biofeedback training, and real-time ultrasound biofeedback training.