Natural Remedies for Proctalgia Fugax

| Modified on Jun 18, 2022

Proctalgia Fugax, which is anal pain that doesn't have a specific cause, can be helped with natural remedies and holistic treatments.

What is Proctalgia Fugax?

Proctalgia fugax is rectal pain that doesn’t have a specific cause. This intense anal pain is typically caused by deep muscle spasms near the anus.

According to one study, proctalgia fugax affects more women than men and typically occurs after puberty. 1

Symptoms of Proctalgia Fugax 

The symptoms of proctalgia fugax are:

  • Muscle spasms in or around either the rectum or the canal of the anus.
  • Pain that occurs suddenly and without any rhyme or reason.
  • Pain that can last from only a few seconds up to 30 minutes.

Natural Remedies for Proctalgia Fugax

Acupuncture, dietary changes, stretching specific to the tailbone region can often help ease the symptoms of proctalgia fugax. Making sure your hydration levels are optimal is important as well as chronic dehydration can exacerbate pain in this area.

Magnesium Oil

Additional natural remedies include magnesium oil, applied to the base of the spine and buttocks, and left on for at least 12 minutes. Topical application of magnesium to a targeted area can be more effective at alleviating pain and muscle cramps than taking magnesium supplements alone.

DMSO

DMSO is another effective pain-relieving remedy for proctalgia fugax. It should be pharmaceutical grade, which is easy to find online at Amazon.com. You can apply a diluted concentration of DMSO (60 DMSO to 40 distilled water) to clean skin JUST ABOVE the anal opening on the tailbone area. Putting DMSO on the anus directly might cause too much burning and will be just as effective if applied above it.

DMSO is also very potent when mixed with magnesium oil. People often add a drop or two of peppermint oil to DMSO and magnesium oil mix as peppermint oil is a great pain reliever on the back.

Continue reading below for more recommendations from Earth Clinic readers. Please let us know which holistic remedies or supplements helped you!




Bowel-Moving Exercises, Sepia 30C

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
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Posted by all-natural-nut (upstate NY) on 02/06/2022
★★★★★

I have been having attacks of proctalgia fugax for decades, usually about once per month in the middle of the night. They are terrifying, with pain so intense that I expect to faint.

Over the years I have tried tremendous numbers of remedies, and for myself at least, I have finally found a reliable protocol that has been consistently helping over the past couple years (by the way, I totally see how the TENS unit could do the job...this is one that I haven't tried but I expect it would work).

For me, it seems that proctalgia fugax is related to a little bit of gas that is trapped in the colon, perhaps in a tender spot. In the last couple years since I tried this remedy, the attack ends with the expulsion of gas.

What I do is, once the attack has begun, I lay belly down and pull my knees up to my underarms, and push my chest/belly down to the bed so there's a big stretch in the anus area. Then I bounce my buttocks up and down on the bed hard to create lots of jostling. I alternate by putting my knees together so that my thighs are bumping into my belly when I jostle. Another thing that helps is to squat on the floor, put my hands on the floor or a table to steady me and bounce my buttocks up and down so that they are hitting against the back of my feet.

Basically I am trying different movements to cause my bowels to move around inside. I have also done belly massage, and lie on my back and pull my knees up and hug them and roll around back and forth side to side. Then pull up one knee at a time and extend the other...sorta like what you would do with a baby with colic..."bicycling" in the air with your legs to move the gas around.

This basic body movement has been the most helpful in relieving an attack fairly quick or at least reducing the pain of an attack substantially.

Another thing I've done alongside this, and I'm not sure how much it helps but I have a hunch that it contributes to success, is the homeopathic remedy sepia 30C.

Furthermore, acupuncture is probably really helpful too, as I have been seeing an acupuncturist for the past year, and just today noticed that I have not had an attack in the last 6 months until today, and today's attack was solved within 2 minutes, which has NEVER been the case for me in the past.


Magnesium and Potassium

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
  100%

Posted by Kathy (Smyth County, Va) on 06/18/2022
★★★★★

Proctalgia Fugax

My husband has struggled with this for a number of years now; & it seems that if he consistently takes a supplement of magnesium & potassium, he finds relief.



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