Anorectal Manometry
Anorectal manometry is a test to evaluate your anal and rectal muscles. These muscles work together with your brain to control your bowel movements. If you’ve been having difficulties with bowel movements, it could be related to how these muscles function. Anorectal manometry is a way of measuring your muscle contractions to determine if they’re activating and coordinating correctly.
Why would you need an anorectal manometry test?
A healthcare provider might recommend an anorectal manometry test if you've been having trouble pooping when and where you want to. It’s one step in the process of evaluating symptoms like:
- Dyschezia (pain or strain with pooping).
- Obstructed defecation (feeling like your poop can’t come out).
- Chronic constipation (hard, infrequent poops).
- Fecal incontinence (trouble holding poop in).
A healthcare provider may also use the test to evaluate your muscle function after an injury or surgery, or to check whether a chronic disease has begun to affect your anorectal motility (motor function).
Anorectal manometry can help diagnose conditions that may explain your constipation, such as:
- Anismus (dyssynergic defecation).
- Hirschsprung disease.
What happens during the anorectal manometry procedure?
- When you arrive for the test, you’ll undress from the waist down or change into a hospital gown. You’ll lie on a table on your side with your knees up.
- A healthcare provider may perform a brief digital rectal exam before inserting the catheter. That means inserting a gloved finger to check for anything abnormal in your anus or rectum.
- They’ll lubricate the end of the catheter to help it go in smoothly, then gently advance it through your anus into your rectum.
- They’ll take pressure readings at different depths inside your rectum to establish your baseline internal pressure. Then, they’ll inflate the balloon.
- Your healthcare provider will take pressure readings with the balloon inflated to different sizes and in different positions inside your rectum. They’ll ask if you can feel these changes or if you feel the urge to poop.
- They’ll ask you to squeeze, relax, push and cough at different intervals. They’ll record your voluntary and involuntary muscle responses.
