Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Re: Thanks and a couple more questions

Hi Amanda,

Yes, some of the muscles are involuntary, however, if your doc is saying you are not relaxing the muscles, he probably means the external anal sphincter which is a voluntary muscle which can be retrained. There is an internal anal sphincter which is involuntary. I think you will find through physical therapy (which can take several months) when you start learning to relax the muscles your bowel movements will get better which in turn will help the IBS symptoms. Do a google search on "pelvic floor dysfunction" and "constipation and pelvic floor dysfunction". You will be surprised with all of the issues a person can have due to problems with the pelvic floor.

Be thankful your doc had the insight to recommend PT....many don't and try to fix it with meds. The only thing that I would question my doc about would be getting off the meds right away. PT is not an overnite fix....it takes some work and dedication.

Have you tried the hypno CDs yet??? I felt they really went hand in hand with the physical therapy.

Believe me, I am a huge skeptic and I thought I was just dealing with bowel/abdominal issues when I found out how much the pelvic floor comes into play. If you could find a specialist in your area, maybe you could just go in for a consult and they could explain how it all works together.

Best of luck Amanda.

Sharon

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