Bowel movement can cause abdominal pain frequently. It can be due to bowel problems and sometimes due to other intestinal problems. However, one cannot easily identify whether pain in the abdomen is due to bowel spasms or other medical conditions.
Bowel is the term given to the organs present below the stomach. It includes small intestine and large intestine present in the lower part of the gut. The intestine contains small muscle fibers in its walls which moves rhythmically contracting and relaxing. By this movement, the contents of the intestine are pushed to the next organ for facilitating digestion and absorption process. Under normal condition, the movement of the muscle fibers is coordinated carefully but sometimes the muscle movement can occur suddenly resulting in bowel spasm.
Peristalsis is the medical term given to this movement and when it happens out of control the muscles can remain in relaxed position or contracted condition for extended duration causing abdominal cramps. Such spasms can interrupt with the normal movement of muscles and can also disrupt the movement of digested food particles through the gut.
Bowel spasms or intestine spasms can cause pain in the abdomen or even cramps. It may or may not be accompanied with other symptoms.
Symptoms :
- Bloated feeling or feeling of fullness in the stomach
- Moderate pain due to bowel spasm
- Nausea and vomiting
- Heart-burn
- Reduced appetite or loss of appetite
- Increase in gas formation and excessive belching
- Constipation (frequent) and sometimes diarrhea
- Distended stomach (enlarged stomach)
There can be other signs like fever and loss of weight if bowel spasm is caused by severe intestinal issues. It is not a matter of concern, if the bowel spasm or muscle contraction gets resolved on its own within minutes. However if one experiences repeated vomiting and/or diarrhea it is wise to seek medical attention.
As said earlier, it is not possible to identify the root cause of bowel spasm (frequently) without undergoing testing procedures.
Causes Of Intestinal Spasms :
Abdominal pain and cramps are not always caused by bowel spasms. There can be simple reason that can cause pain in your stomach. Women are prone to develop abdominal cramps (moderate to severe) before and during monthly periods. Muscles in the uterus can contract wildly during such time causing abdominal cramps.