How Chronic Constipation is Connected to Fecal Incontinence

For some time now, you’ve struggled with chronic constipation, and you’ve reluctantly grown used to that uncomfortable feeling. Now, your discomfort has taken a turn for the worse as you’ve developed fecal incontinence. Are these standalone issues, or are they connected?

The odds are good that the two are not only closely linked but that your ongoing constipation led to issues with fecal incontinence. In the United States, between 9% and 20% of adults struggle with constipation issues, and between 7% and 15% of adults are dealing with fecal incontinence. Since these two are linked, there’s a good deal of crossover between these numbers.

The team at Fairfax Colon & Rectal Surgery put together this brief explanation to better understand the connection between chronic constipation and fecal incontinence.

The problem with chronic constipation

Let’s start with what we feel is a good description of constipation: unsatisfactory bowel movements caused by difficult and infrequent stools.

Most of us encounter constipation from time to time, whether because of not drinking enough water, eating something that doesn't pass through well, or taking certain medications. In many cases, the constipation is temporary and resolves on its own.

For many others, however, constipation can become an ongoing problem, and the longer the constipation persists, the more likely it is that complications will develop, such as:

• Hemorrhoids
• Anal fissures
• Rectal prolapse
• Fecal impaction
• Fecal incontinence

While we have explanations for each of these potential side effects of chronic constipation, we’re going to focus on the last time on the list — fecal incontinence.

The road to fecal incontinence

The definition of fecal incontinence is having problems controlling your bowel movements and experiencing leakage. Given this definition, fecal incontinence seems like the opposite of constipation, so how are they connected?

For starters, when you have long-term issues with constipation, the muscles in your intestines and rectum can weaken and stretch out. So, when you have ongoing fecal impactions, watery stool from higher up your digestive tract can get by the stuck stool thanks to the looser and weaker muscles in your intestines and rectum. As a result, you can leak out this watery stool.

Also, chronic constipation can damage nerves in your lower digestive tract over time. When this occurs, you may lose control of your ability to hold your stool.

So, if your chronic constipation has led to weakened muscles and damaged nerves in your bowel and/or rectum, you can experience fecal incontinence.

Getting back on track

If you have a history of chronic constipation and now you’re facing fecal incontinence, we want you to come see us.

First, we’ll work on getting your stool to pass more smoothly through your bowel and rectum, which can prevent further damage to your muscles and nerves. Then, we can address incontinence — frontline treatments include dietary changes and bowel training.

If you’re still leaking fecal matter, we can perform a minimally invasive surgery in which we repair damaged muscles to help you better control your bowel and rectum.

The takeaway is that both constipation and fecal incontinence are highly treatable, and the sooner we address these issues, the faster we can improve your quality of life. 

For top-notch care of your constipation and fecal incontinence, please contact one of our offices in Fairfax, Fair Oaks, Alexandria, Gainesville, Woodbridge, or Lansdowne, Virginia, to schedule an appointment.