Anorectal manometry for chronic constipation and evacuation disorders imaging can't explain.
Identifies the pelvic floor coordination problems that colonoscopy and imaging don't capture.
Identifies the pelvic floor coordination problems that colonoscopy and imaging don't capture.
Anorectal manometry evaluates pressure relationships and coordination between the pelvic floor muscles in real time, identifying a common and commonly missed cause of chronic constipation that colonoscopy and imaging cannot see.
A catheter lined with closely spaced pressure sensors evaluates the coordination between the internal and external anal sphincters, the puborectalis muscle, and the rectum during rest, squeeze, and simulated evacuation. The result shows not just muscle strength, but whether the pelvic floor relaxes or paradoxically tightens when it should be opening.
The test identifies dyssynergic defecation, a paradoxical pelvic floor contraction during straining that is among the most common, and most commonly missed, causes of chronic constipation. It also evaluates rectal sensation, sphincter resting tone, and squeeze pressure, distinguishing a coordination problem from a structural or slow-transit one.
Constipation that doesn't respond to dietary changes often has a motility component upstream of the pelvic floor. See our gastric emptying and whole-gut transit testing for how slow-transit constipation is distinguished from an evacuation disorder.
Patients with chronic constipation, particularly straining and incomplete evacuation, or anorectal pain unexplained by colonoscopy or imaging.