Obstructed Defecation Syndrome (ODS): the inability to defecate naturally

By Cristiano Antonino On Oct 12, 2022

Obstructed Defecation Syndrome (ODS): many women (but also many men) suffer from constipation: in simple terms, they do not have normal defecation, both in relation to timing and frequency of evacuation

However, constipation does not always depend on diet or lifestyle: for many people (mostly women), the cause of the problem is ‘obstructed defecation syndrome’, i.e. the inability to defecate naturally.

Symptoms of obstructed defecation syndrome

Patients who are unable to pass bowel movements normally often experience the following symptoms

they can only evacuate after taking laxatives or enemas;
they have to help themselves using their fingers (typing) to go to the toilet;
they have a feeling of incomplete evacuation;
they evacuate several times during the day (fragmented defecation);
they have to push a lot to go to the toilet (excessive and prolonged petting);
have to stand on the toilet for a long time (more than 15 minutes);
they experience rectal and perineal pain;
they sometimes involuntarily leak stools.

Causes of obstructed defecation syndrome

The discomfort is caused, many times, by a problem inherent in the final part of the digestive system, the rectum, and not by incorrect lifestyle habits.

In particular, obstruction of the outflow of faeces (mechanical obstruction) due to problems of the rectum can be linked to the occurrence, even simultaneously, of the following phenomena

external mucous prolapse: sometimes the mucous membrane of the rectum prolapses, creating an obstacle to the passage of stool (reason for efforts to evacuate);
rectocele: at other times the muscles of the rectum become strained, creating a pouch which, in women, protrudes towards the vagina;
invagination: the rectum collapses in on itself.

Faecal residues may remain in small mucous pockets, leaving one with the sensation of having to defecate again, or of feeling the need to go to the toilet several times.

Obstruction of defecation may also be related to stable prolapses of the uterus or intestine.

These two organs, by prolapsing, compress the rectum causing a reduction of the rectal lumen, thus making defecation difficult.

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