Bowel retraining

Try to contract the abdominal muscles and bear down while expelling the stool. Some people find it helpful to bend forward while bearing down, as this increases the abdominal pressure and helps evacuate the bowel.

Consistency is crucial for the success of a bowel retraining program. Try to establish a time for bowel movements and stick to this time. Within a few weeks, most people are able to establish a regular routine of bowel movements.

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KEGEL EXERCISES

Strengthening the tone of the rectal muscles may help achieve some degree of bowel control in those people who have fecal incontinence caused by an incompetent rectal sphincter. Exercises to strengthen pelvic and rectal muscle tone are called Kegel exercises. These exercises were originally developed as a method of controlling incontinence in women following childbirth. The success of Kegel exercises depends on proper technique and adherence to a regular exercise program.

BIOFEEDBACK

Biofeedback is a method of providing audio or visual feedback to a person about some bodily function, such as muscle activity. In people with fecal incontinence, biofeedback is used to strengthen the tone of the rectal sphincter. A rectal plug is used to monitor the strength of the rectal muscles. A monitoring electrode may be placed on the abdomen.

The rectal plug is then attached to a computer monitor which displays a graph showing rectal muscle contractions and abdominal contractions. The person is taught how to squeeze the rectal muscle around the rectal plug, using the computer display as a guide to ensure correct technique. The person should see an improvement in symptoms after three sessions.