What Causes Painful Bowel Movements?

Written by Katie Cameron
Medically Reviewed by Poonam Sachdev, MD on April 01, 2026

Pain when you poop is usually a symptom of a health issue like constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, or hemorrhoids. Many of these health conditions can be treated easily and your symptoms will be relieved.  If you're having trouble on the toilet, learning the reason why can help you and your doctor figure out the best way to take care of the problem. You can often improve the pain with simple at-home remedies.

Learn some common causes of painful bowel movements.

If food doesn't move through your digestive tract fast enough, your colon absorbs too much water. This leaves your stool hard and dry, so it hurts to push it out. Many things can make you constipated, including some medicines, health conditions, too little fluid or fiber in your diet, lack of exercise, and big changes in your habits or lifestyle, such as travel or pregnancy.

Besides pain when you poop, constipation can make you feel sluggish and bloated and cause belly pain. Other symptoms of constipation include: 

  • Passing fewer than three stools in one week
  • Lumpy poop
  • Having to strain when you have a bowel movement
  • Feeling like you haven't fully emptied your bowels after pooping
  • Feeling like there is something blocking your rectum
  • Needing to use a finger to help pass the stool

If you have several of these symptoms for more than three months, you may have chronic constipation. 

Most of the time, drinking more water and exercising more can help. You can also focus on eating a diet that is high in fiber (like vegetables, fruits, beans, and whole grains) and low in processed foods, meat, and dairy. It may also help to go when you feel the urge instead of holding it. 

Call your doctor if fiber, exercise, and more water don't help. If you think a drug is making you constipated, ask your doctor if you can switch to a different one that doesn't have this side effect.

Nearly 3 out of 4 people get hemorrhoids, or swollen veins inside their rectum or around their anus. They can happen if you sit too long on the toilet, strain too much during a bowel movement, or have chronic constipation or diarrhea. Pregnancy and obesity can raise your chances of getting them, too.

If a hemorrhoid is causing painful bowel movements or pain when you sit or walk, you might also have:

  • Bleeding during bowel movements or small amounts of bright red blood on your toilet tissue or in the toilet
  • Itching or irritation around your anus
  • Pain or discomfort
  • Swelling around your anus
  • A lump near your anus, which may be sensitive or painful

You can usually treat hemorrhoids at home by:

  • Taking warm baths
  • Using a stool softener
  • Using an over-the-counter hemorrhoid cream, witch hazel, lidocaine, or hydrocortisone
  • Increasing how much water you drink each day
  • Increasing your fiber to get 20-35 grams a day
  • Using wet wipes or a warm paper towel when you poop and patting yourself dry

Call your doctor if your pain interferes with your daily activities, gets worse, or doesn't clear up within a week. The clot may need to be removed. This is a quick procedure that some doctors do in their office.

It's common to get small tears inside or around your anus, the opening where your poop comes out. These anal fissures are often caused by a large or very hard stool. They can cause the muscles around your anus to spasm, so bowel movements hurt. 

You are at a greater risk of having an anal fissure if you:

  • Are constipated and pass large or hard stools
  • Have recently given birth
  • Have Crohn's disease
  • Have anal intercourse
  • Are middle-aged (though it also happens frequently in infants)

If these tears are the source of your pain, you can try to drink more fluids, add extra fiber to your diet, and increase how much you exercise. This may help make your stools softer, so they don't hurt as much.

Anal fissures often heal within a few weeks, but ones lasting more than eight weeks are considered a chronic condition. If not, talk to your doctor. They may recommend using laxatives or prescribe a drug that helps stop the spasms and allows the area to heal faster. If you have one anal fissure, you are more likely to have another.  In rare cases, people may have surgery for anal fissures.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of diseases that cause inflammation in – and damage to – the intestines. If you have IBD, you may have symptoms during a flare-up that go away when you are in remission. These can include:

  • Diarrhea
  • Weight loss
  • Fatigue
  • Nausea and stomach pain
  • Depression and anxiety

The two most common types of IBD are ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. These two conditions affect your stomach in different areas and in slightly different ways, but both can cause painful bowel movements. 

Ulcerative colitis

Ulcerative colitis is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that causes swelling, soreness, and ulcers in your large intestine (colon) and rectum, which make pooping painful. It can also cause mild to severe stomach cramping when you're pooping. 

Crohn's disease

Another type of IBD called Crohn's disease has symptoms that are similar to those of ulcerative colitis.

You may also have stomach cramping or diarrhea that's bloody or contains pus. Some people with ulcerative colitis have an urgent need to poop or feel like not all their poop comes out. Crohn's disease can also cause diarrhea and anal fissures, which can make bowel movements painful. 

Although both are lifelong conditions, many different drugs can help. Some calm down an overactive immune system – your body's defense against germs – which doctors believe may be a cause. Others manage your symptoms. While surgery can get rid of your ulcerative colitis for good, that often means taking out your colon and rectum.

Long-term skin problems like eczema, psoriasis, and warts can affect the area around your anus. Besides pain before, after, and while you poop, you may also notice itching and bleeding in the skin around that area.

If you think one of these might be causing your painful bowel movements, you should see a doctor sooner rather than later. Your doctor may need to take a small sample from the skin around your anus to send to a lab. This will confirm the cause of your discomfort and your best treatment options.

Some infections can cause anal pain before, during, or after bowel movements. These include:

Anal abscesses(pockets of pus near your anus or rectum), which may also cause pain, redness, or swelling around the anus

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) like chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes, and HPV, which may come with anal pain, bleeding, discharge, or itching

Fungal infections, which can cause mild to severe rectal pain

You should see a doctor if you think you have an infection. You'll likely get medicine in the form of a cream or a pill. In some cases, if you have a deep abscess, you might also need surgery. Once your infection clears up, your bowel movements shouldn't hurt anymore.

Endometriosis happens when the type of tissue that grows inside your uterus sometimes spreads to other organs in the pelvis. This condition causes swelling, inflammation, and chronic pain. It can also cause you to feel a shooting pain when you poop, especially during your menstrual cycle if you have one.

Your doctor can look for signs of endometriosis with imaging tests. Hormone therapy can offer some relief. In severe cases, surgery to remove the misplaced tissue will also help.

You should see your doctor about endometriosis if any of these things happen to you:

  • Pain for several days during your menstrual cycle
  • Menstrual pain that causes you to miss work
  • Pain that causes you to avoid sexual intercourse
  • You change your lifestyle because of pain

While not as likely as other reasons, some cancers can cause pain when you poop. Besides soreness and pressure, bleeding during a bowel movement is often an early sign. You could also have anal itching, discharge, or notice that your stool looks more narrow than normal.

If your pain or bleeding doesn't go away, or if it gets worse after a few days, see your doctor. They'll do a physical exam to check for signs of cancer. If you do have an anal tumor, doctors will treat it with surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation.

Colorectal cancer

This is cancer found in the colon or rectum, the organs that make up the large intestine. These cancers usually begin when a polyp, or clump of cells, grows on the inner lining of the colon or rectum. Over time, it can grow into cancer. 

As the polyp grows, it can cause a number of symptoms. One is painful bowel movements, in part, because it may block some of the large intestine, making the poop harder to pass. This can make you have constipation and the feeling that you still need to poop even after you've had a bowel movement.

Colorectal cancer is diagnosed with a test called a colonoscopy. Here, a thin tube with a camera is put into the rectum to find polyps. Your doctor may remove any polyps found to see if they are cancerous. If there is cancer, your doctor will perform other tests to find out its stage. Survival rates for colorectal cancer are high, especially when the cancer is found early and hasn't spread to other areas. If it hasn't spread anywhere, there is a 91% five-year survival rate; if the cancer has spread outside of the large intestine, the rates drop to 13%.

Colorectal cancer can't be prevented. But regular screenings – starting at age 45 – can help find polyps early and prevent them from turning into cancer. Other ways to decrease your risk of getting colon cancer include staying at a healthy weight, getting regular exercise, and eating a diet that includes a lot of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains while limiting red and processed meats. If you smoke, quitting may help lower your risk, too. 

Anal cancer

Anal cancer happens when cells in the skin outside, or right inside, of the anus grow out of control. Anal cancer may cause symptoms like bleeding during a bowel movement or painful bowel movements. This happens when there is a lump at the opening of the anus, making stools difficult to pass. 

Tests to see if you have anal cancer include an exam where your doctor inserts a gloved finger into your anus to feel for any unusual changes. They may also use a small scope with a camera or other imaging tests, like an X-ray, to see where the cancer is located. If you have cancer, your doctor will take a small piece of skin, or biopsy, to find the cancer's stage. Survival rates for cancer that is just in the anus are about 83%; if it has spread to other parts of the body, rates drop to 36%.   

Anal cancer can't be prevented completely, but you may reduce your risk of getting it by using condoms when you have sex, quitting smoking, getting the HPV vaccine, and, if you have HIV, getting treatment for the condition. 

Pelvic cancer

Cancers of the cervix, uterus, and ovaries can cause painful bowel movements or bleeding when you poop. This happens if a pelvic tumor has grown and is pushing against, or slightly blocking, the bowels.  

Testing for pelvic cancers includes a physical with your doctor, along with a pelvic and rectal exam. To screen for pelvic cancers like cervical cancer, your doctor will also do a Pap test to collect cells from the cervix to test for any changes and an HPV test. 

Endometrial cancer is more common in women after menopause. There aren't any specific tests for this, but an ultrasound may be used to diagnose this cancer when you have symptoms. 

These cancers have a five-year survival rate of between 91% and 95% when they haven't spread. You can lower your risk of these types of cancers by keeping your weight in a healthy range, eating a low-fat diet, exercising regularly, and getting regular Pap tests.

Stomach pain after you have a bowel movement can be caused by many things. If you have pain often or it doesn't go away, talk to your doctor. 

Colon spasms can cause pain after a bowel movement. These spasms, or contractions of the muscles in your large intestine, can be caused by things like stress, infections, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or IBD. If you have colon spasms, your doctor will likely recommend lifestyle changes including intermittent fasting, moderate exercise, stress management, or an increase in fiber intake. 

Food poisoning can cause pain when a bacteria or virus from the food you eat causes inflammation in your stomach. As you poop, muscle contractions in your inflamed stomach can cause pain. 

Appendicitis can happen when poop blocks or causes an infection in your appendix. You may feel you need to have a bowel movement but can't. Or you may have pain with a bowel movement. Pain from appendicitis usually starts in the middle of your stomach, then moves to the lower right side. If this happens and you have other symptoms, like a fever, vomiting, diarrhea, or a swollen stomach, contact your doctor. Appendicitis can be serious and require surgery to remove the appendix right away.

If you're having pain during bowel movements, there could be a variety of causes. Most commonly, constipation, inflammatory bowel diseases like ulcerative colitis or Crohn's, or hemorrhoids are the cause of your discomfort. In rarer cases, pain when you poop could point to an infection, an anal tear, or even cancer. If you're consistently having pain in the bathroom, talk with your doctor to discuss the best treatment for you.

What is bowel pain a symptom of?

Bowel pain can be a symptom of many conditions, most commonly constipation, hemorrhoids, or endometriosis if you have a period. If you're having ongoing pain, talk with your doctor about your symptoms to try to find out what's causing your discomfort.

What causes inflammation during bowel movements?

Proctitis is when your rectum gets inflamed. It can be caused by sexually transmitted infections (STIs), bowel diseases like ulcerative colitis, or even radiation therapy. Proctitis makes pooping painful, so talk to your doctor about treatment options. If your case is caused by an infection, antibiotics could clear up your symptoms.

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