Medical Questions » Gut (Intestines) Questions » Question No. 433
| Question: | A recent colonoscopy has revealed bowel spasms. These are very painful and I was hoping that you could explain the cause and tell me how to prevent them. |
| Answer: | Bowel spasms that have no apparent cause are called the irritable bowel syndrome.
The bowel normally contracts rhythmically to move food steadily down from the top end to the bottom. If these contractions become excessive or uncoordinated you can develop a painful colic.
The spasms may be exaggerated by stress, anxiety, certain foods, lack of food, infections, irritants, some medications and a host of other causes.
If a specific cause can be found, it obviously best to treat this, but often this is not possible.
A number of medications can be prescribed by your general practitioner to ease the gut spasms when they occur, or if the problem is constant, others may be taken on a regular basis to prevent the problem.
A high-fibre diet is often beneficial, as it gives the bowel something to wotk on, and directs the gut spasms in a useful way.
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