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Men (or those with male genitals)! Have you ever had to put the following in the Google Search Engine: “golf ball in butthole/rectum feeling,” “there’s a ton of pressure in my rectum,” “there’s something stuck in my rectum,” “my tailbone hurts every time I sit,” “I can’t drive for long periods of time.”  If this sounds like you, you may be experiencing one of the following diagnoses below.
Levator Ani Syndrome
Your levator ani muscles consist of a group of muscles in your pelvic floor that help support pelvic organs. Their primary function is to elevate the pelvic floor. Levator ani syndrome is a spasm of those muscles causing symptoms of tailbone pain, ball in rectum feeling, and/or feelings of UTI. Levator ani syndrome can be caused by:

Pudendal Neuralgia
Pudendal Neuralgia is a long-term pelvic pain syndrome that originates from damage or irritation of the pudendal nerve, the main nerve of the pelvis.
The pudendal nerve supplies areas of the pelvic floor such as: 

When the pudendal nerve is damaged, the pain feels like a burning, crushing, shooting, or prickling sensation. It may develop gradually or suddenly. It will also be worse when sitting down and improve with laying down or standing.
Pudendal neuralgia can happen if the pudendal nerve is damaged, irritated, or trapped. 
Possible causes include:

Constipation
Constipation occurs when a person does not regularly pass stool. This may also occur due to inadequate fiber intake, low physical activity, medications (eg: opioid use, blood pressure medications, antidepressants), irritable bowel syndrome, and changes in routine (eg:  travel). Those who suffer from constipation usually produce dry, hard stools resembling rabbit pellets. Sometimes there may be pain and cramping in the abdomen, bloating, nausea, and loss of appetite.
Hemorrhoids
Hemorrhoids are swollen blood vessels in the walls of your rectum or anus.  Hemorrhoids are quite common in the smaller, milder form. They can become painful and itch and can leave blood on the tissue when you wipe.

Rectal Prolapse
The rectum is the last part of your large intestine, and the anus is the opening through which feces exits your body.  A rectal prolapse may be caused by weakening of your internal and external anal sphincters that hold your anus in place.  They may feel or look like hemorrhoids, but unlike hemorrhoids, it doesn’t go away on its own.  It MAY require surgical intervention, but conservative treatment is recommended before surgery is considered. 
 The reasons that rectal prolapse may occur may be due to:

Rectal prolapse can range from mild to severe.  There are four types of rectal prolapse.  The type can be identified by the movement of the rectum:

The symptoms of rectal prolapse tend to come on slowly.  The first symptoms you’ll notice is the feeling that there is a bulge at your anus.  With a mirror, you may be able to see a pink and/or red colored bulge peeking through your anus. 
 Additional symptoms may include:

All the conditions above can be treated through a variety of treatments at Pelvic Health Center such as:

If you’re experiencing pelvic floor dysfunctions associated with the issues above, including rectal prolapse, pudendal neuralgia, constipation, hemorrhoids, and levator ani syndrome, please reach out to us at Pelvic Health Center in Madison, NJ to set up an evaluation and treatment! Feel free to call us at 908-443-9880 or email us at

Works Cited:

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