It can compress the nerves, which hinders blood flow to them. Those nerves run all the way down to your feet, so that poor blood flow can lead to tingling in your lower extremities. Sitting on the toilet in this position for 10 to 15 minutes is enough to start making many guys feel pins and needles.
Often people need to tense their abdominal muscles and strain a bit during a bowel movement. This tends to stimulate the vagus nerve, which slows the heart rate. At the same time, blood flow back to the heart decreases, so blood pressure drops.
This kind of pain is most commonly reported as a dull ache in the lower back, where the backup of stool radiates pressure upon surrounding parts of the body. If things get really bad, pressure upon the nerves can lead to pain and numbness in your legs.
Sciatica is a type of nerve pain, which is usually a burning, stabbing or shooting feeling. It radiates from your buttock down the back of your leg. It often gets worse when you walk, cough, strain on the toilet or go up stairs. Most people only have symptoms in one leg.
“That squeezing of the abdominal muscles causes your vagus nerve to be contracted.” This essential nerve helps control relaxation, so the squeezing of it can actually decrease your heart rate, causing your blood pressure to drop.
Do you ever begin sweating and feeling like you are going to pass out while pooping, or do you feel like you will pass out at the sight of blood? It's possible that your vagus nerve is causing this sensation and triggering your body's vasovagal reflex, or vasovagal response.
The Bottom Line
Any back or leg pain resulting from constipation is caused by the backup of stool in your body, and properly accounting for the constipation you are experiencing will help relieve your other symptoms, too.
Leg pain on its own isn't usually caused by constipation. However, you may experience constipation with leg pain if your leg pain is also accompanied by back pain. For example, you may have constipation if you have sciatica, which affects the sciatic nerves.
This can mean that even a small amount of nerve activation can feel a great deal more sensitive and painful in this group of individuals [Source: Pubmed]. Those with IBS also have a higher rate of also having fibromyalgia. In this syndrome, pain is experienced throughout the body, including the back and the legs.
Those with bowel disease were also more than six times more likely to also have a disorder called sensorimotor polyneuropathy, a nerve disease that can cause weakness, pain, and numbness. These diseases were more common in women with bowel disease than men.
People who have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a disorder that affects the gut, have a higher chance of also being diagnosed with restless leg syndrome (RLS), a nervous system condition.
Spending too much time on the toilet causes pressure on your rectum and anus. Because the seat is cut out, your rectum is lower than the rest of your backside. Gravity takes over, and blood starts to pool and clot in those veins. Add in any straining or pushing, and you may have a recipe for hemorrhoids.
The vegus nerve is part of that rest-and-digest system, and runs all the way from the brain stem to the rectum. "When that is stimulated, it can cause sweats, it can cause chills, it can drop your blood pressure and your heart rate as well," he says.
Passing bowel movements engages certain muscles in the colon and rectum. Once the body releases poop, these muscles relax, causing excitation of the vagus nerve.
Tenesmus is a feeling of being unable to empty the bowel or bladder. It usually refers to rectal tenesmus, which can occur with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), rectal cancer, and other conditions. Vesical tenesmus is a separate condition that relates to the bladder.
Bloating Or Fullness, Increased Passing Gas And Numbness Or Tingling. Bloating or excessive gas can be features of different digestive conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome or gastroenteritis. Numbness or tingling may not be related to digestive conditions, but it can be present at the same time.
Yes… constipation. Pressure from the bowel can press on the nerve roots.
The initial symptoms of Crohn's disease (CD) sometimes present as extraintestinal lesions, which can be a diagnostic challenge for physicians. Painful legs, known as “gastrocnemius myalgia syndrome”, are rare complications that often precede abdominal manifestations.
Rarely, patients with significant abdominal pathology such as appendicitis and diverticulitis can present with hip pain.
Your bowels are controlled by muscles. When your sciatic nerve becomes severely damaged, you lose muscle control, and this may cause you to lose control of your bowel movements.
Drinking plenty of water and staying hydrated is a great way to regulate digestion. People who support a water flush for colon cleansing recommend drinking six to eight glasses of lukewarm water per day. Also try eating plenty of foods high in fiber & water content.
Common causes of fecal incontinence include diarrhea, constipation, and muscle or nerve damage. The muscle or nerve damage may be associated with aging or with giving birth.
Signs Your Colon is Clear
The morning of your exam if you are still passing brown liquid with solid material mixed in, your colon may not be ready and you should contact your doctor's office. Passing mostly clear or only a light color, including yellow, is a sign your colon is clean enough for an accurate examination.