Can Constipation Cause Lower Back Pain?
The question often arises whether constipation can cause lower back pain. You will find the answer in this article.
What is constipation?
Constipation is a digestive dysfunction characterized by
- Infrequent bowel movements
- Hard or lumpy stools
- Straining to have a bowel movement on the toilet
- A sense that everything didn’t come out
- Stomach bloating
- Upper or lower abdominal pain
A person experiencing constipation has fewer than three bowel movements a week.
What is lower back pain?
Lower back pain is a common disorder characterized by a constant ache or a sudden sharp feeling in the lumbar region.
When the pain radiates along the sciatic nerve, it is known as sciatica.
What causes lower back pain?
Lower back pain and sciatica may result from:
- An accident, such as a fall
- An abrupt movement
- Lifting a heavy object
- A cold draft
- Pregnancy
- A medical condition, such as a backbone malformation or osteoporosis
It can involve back muscles, ligaments, joints, nerves, and skin; the backbone; vertebral discs; and internal organs.
Can constipation cause lower back pain?
In some cases, a buildup of waste in the digestive system may, directly or indirectly, cause lower back pain.
An accumulation of stool can cause the intestines to distend, putting pressure on nerve endings in the spine.
Moreover, in the case of a leaky gut, toxins blocked in the digestive system can cross the alimentary canal and spread to nearby tissues, causing inflammation.
Therefore, the answer is yes, constipation can cause lower back pain (and more often than you think).
However, an accumulation of waste in the digestive system may also cause lower back pain without necessarily occasioning constipation.
Can fecal impaction cause lower back pain?
Fecal impaction is a complication of prolonged constipation.
It occurs when the stool is so hard and large that it cannot pass with a bowel movement.
As such, fecal impaction, like normal constipation, can cause lower back pain.
How to relieve constipation-induced back pain
When lower back pain results from constipation, stimulation of bowel movement will automatically relieve the ache.
Therefore, remedies with laxative effects, such as Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate), may help you relieve lower back pain.
Magnesium and sulfate ions are both osmotic laxatives1. They attract water through your tissues into the intestines by a process known as osmosis.
The water, in turn, helps soften your stool and makes it easier to pass1.
Related: How To Get Rid Of Lower Back Pain Fast
Epsom salt for lower back pain relief
You can either drink Epsom salt mixed with water or take it in a detox bath.
Laxative drink dosage
Take two teaspoons of magnesium sulfate in a glass of water three times daily.
It is noteworthy that Epsom salt has a bitter taste.
Related: 5 Immediate Constipation Relief Remedies
Laxative detox bath dosage
Take a bath to which you have added a large handful of magnesium sulfate.
When soaking in the tub, almost your whole skin surface is in contact with the salt.
Your skin will absorb and distribute the salt to your internal body tissues via your bloodstream.
Related: 13 Himalayan Salt Bath Benefits
Summary: Can constipation cause lower back pain?
Constipation is defined as having less than three bowel movements a week.
Furthermore, fecal impaction is a complication of constipation defined by hard stools that are difficult to pass with bowel movement.
Both normal constipation and fecal impaction can cause lower back pain.
When lower back pain results from constipation, laxative remedies, such as Epsom salt, may help relieve the ache.
