What to Know About Levator Ani Syndrome and its Association with Rectal Pain.

Levator Ani Syndrome is a condition of chronic muscle-based pelvic pain up inside the muscles of the pelvic floor commonly associated with rectal pain . If you are experiencing chronic rectal and/or anal pain, there is a chance you will be diagnosed with Levator Ani Syndrome.

The syndrome was first named by George Thiele, a colorectal surgeon in the 1930s who discovered that patients who came to see him with rectal pain, reported pain when he touched the levator muscle inside the pelvic floor.

Levator Ani Syndrome/spasm can make life very difficult. It tends to be made worse by sitting, bowel movements, sexual activity, and stress. When Levator Ani Syndrome occurs it will often take on a life of its own as the condition forms a self-feeding cycle of tension, anxiety, pain, and protective guarding. This is why drugs, surgery electrical stimulation, or biofeedback have offered little relief from pain with what is diagnosed as Levator Ani Syndrome.

The Wise-Anderson Protocol has helped many patients diagnosed Levator Ani Syndrome with the treatment described in the sixth edition of A Headache in the Pelvis. The Wise-Anderson Protocol for symptoms of Levator Ani Syndrome is offered in a monthly six-day immersion clinic in California. A specific kind of physiotherapy for pelvic pain and relaxation protocol adapted specifically for pelvic muscle pain (called Paradoxical Relaxation) are central parts of the protocol and are aimed at rehabilitating chronically tightened pelvic muscles and reducing anxiety related to this chronically contracted condition of the pelvic floor.

NOTE: While it is our hope that these facts about Levator Ani Syndrome are helpful, this information is not to be misconstrued as medical advice. This should be presented as general information about the disorder.