The rectal balloon is a tool for your pelvic floor that’s being applied when your circular muscle or pelvic floor muscles are weak or weakened. The rectal balloon is being inserted anally and stimulates the feeling of having a full rectum. After the balloon is inserted, it will carefully inflate and the pelvic floor can be trained. You will get exercises whilst the feeling of having to lose your stool is present. The rectal balloon is being used to improve the feeling and especially the recognition around the anus and the rectum. The rectal balloon is primarily being used when you are having issues like: 

• • Fecal incontinence, fecal loss and every issue related to that. 
  • Obstipation and in terms clogging and not being able to let your stools descend.  

If you’re looking for pelvic floor exercises or go to the exercises page. If you’re looking for products for your pelvis and go to the Pelvic Store. 

The rectal balloon is being used to train your pelvic floor muscles. But often with balloons, you think about a party, however you won’t really use this balloon as a decoration. So when you have pelvic pain, pelvic issues or pelvic instability, the rectal balloon can help you train your pelvic floor muscles. Because of pelvic issues, pelvic pain or pelvic instability, your pelvic floor muscles are disordered. The pelvic floor muscles are either weakened or too tense and overactive. The rectal balloon can be a helping outcome to strengthen your weak pelvic floor or to help relax the overactive pelvic floor. Inserting or training with the rectal balloon is pain free but it may cause some discomfort. 

The rectal balloon is often being used with issues caused by the dysfunction of the pelvic floor and circular muscle. However, a rectal balloon can also be used during a prolapse. With a prolapse you struggle more with fecal incontinence. When your muscles are too tight and too tense, you can’t relax properly, and with that you will have more obstipation issues.  

I have gathered as much information as I could and summed it up in this article. Hopefully this will help you with the questions that you may have.  

Before the rectal balloon treatment 

Before you visit a pelvic physical therapist, pelvic exercise therapist or another pelvic floor therapist that uses the rectal balloon, it’s smart to visit your doc first. If you’re having fecal incontinence or obstipation issues, then it’s recommended to visit a specialist as well, for example your physician, gynecologist or urologist. These can refer you to the right pelvic physical therapist. So firstly let a specialist examine your pelvic issues before you go to a therapist. 

When you’re eventually seeing a pelvic physical therapist and the rectal balloon is going to be your next treatment, don’t worry too much about it. You don’t have to prepare yourself for anything. It is a good thing to have your personal hygiene up to par, however. Take a nice shower beforehand and make sure you have gone to the toilet before your treatment. It isn’t necessary, but it will be more comfortable for yourself. Try to rinse yourself out and try to showcase your intestines as empty as possible. 

The rectal balloon treatment 

When the rectal balloon is inserted, it of course isn’t inflated yet. The balloon will be flabby and inserted with a thin hose. This isn’t too uncomfortable. This thin hose will be inserted into your rectum by a few inches. Then the balloon will slowly be filled with either water or air. This gives your intestines the same feeling as if they would be full with stool. The feeling of having to lose your stool increases. 

The rectal balloon is an important tool, even when you have the feeling that your urges of needing to lose stool isn’t disrupted. You’re also training to keep in your stool. 

The rectal balloon with a weak pelvic floor 

In the case of rectal incontinence and stool loss, you will train to keep in your stools while feeling an urge to lose them by using a rectal balloon. Training your pelvic floor muscles will be challenging and it takes some good effort and attention. Overtime you will notice that it’s easier to keep in your stool. Holding up your stools while the urges increase will become less of a struggle for you. The stool loss will decrease. Your pelvic floor muscles are well trainable, it are muscles just like your abs. The circular muscle and surrounding pelvic floor muscles will become stronger overtime with those exercises. You can compare it to training your abs or biceps, the more you train, the stronger you become and the more you can lift. It’s exactly the same with your pelvic muscles and circular muscle. The stronger you become, the more control you have, the better you can hold up your stool. However, training the pelvic floor muscles does sometimes take up some more time. You feel your pelvic floor muscles less than you can feel your bicep. Do keep in mind that it will take about a month before you notice any improvement. 

When you experience obstipation and you struggle with recognizing the urge to lose your stool, this balloon can also be ideal. Feeling the urges might be disrupted. It can also be the case that your pelvic floor muscles don’t recognize the urges that well anymore. The pelvic floor muscles can’t relax properly and the stools heap up in the intestines. When feces heap up in the intestines, the intestines drain out the liquids from the feces. The stool becomes solid and the ability to push it out becomes more complicated. 

The rectal balloon with a tight pelvic floor 

By inserting the rectal balloon and the slow inflation of it, the urging feeling gets simulated. Recognizing that the rectum is full is now being trained and you’ll notice that you’ll get better at it overtime. When people experience obstipation issues it could be the case they start to squeeze too hard and in a wrong way, so this treatment is also a good way to examine your way of pushing and how to exercise it again. Maybe also take a look at my article about the toilet behavior. Here you can read what could help you when you have overactive pelvic floor muscles and in terms have developed obstipation issues. 

A suitable pelvic physical therapist for rectal balloon treatment 

A rectal balloon treatment is highly personal. That’s why it’s important that you feel comfortable around your pelvic physical therapist. However, you should look at what kind of pelvic physical therapist or pelvic exercise therapist is treating you because there are only a handful of therapists that can perform the rectal balloon treatment. For this treatment you will also need to have a referral from your doctor or specialist. It’s important that your pelvic physical therapist or pelvic exercise therapist is a registered pelvic therapist. Discuss this with your doc and have a conversation about it with your pelvic physical therapist. You will notice if you have or don’t have the right click with your pelvic physical therapist. 

How long does a rectal balloon treatment take? 

The average time of a rectal balloon treatment is around 15-20 minutes. The treatments of a pelvic physical treatments take around 30 minutes. About the half of a total treatment consists out of a rectal balloon treatment. For the rest, the time before you notice any difference during the rectal balloon treatments take about one and a half month. So take your time with it and have patience. The pelvic floor muscles and the anus need to work hard for improvement. 

How much costs a rectal balloon? 

A rectal balloon is always something personal, which means that it isn’t going to be cleaned for reuse for another patient. The price of a rectal balloon is around the 35-65 dollars. Sometimes this is being covered by your health insurance but it could also be the case that the full bill will be for you to pay. However, the rectal balloon can be reused by you, you can thoroughly clean it and take it with you for your next treatment. 

More tips for a rectal balloon treatment 

A rectal balloon training is not only effective, it’s also important to live by the advices given about your nutrition and exercise. Read the most important advices below.  

5 advices to use next to a rectal balloon treatment: 

1. 1. The feeding pattern and drinking pattern. 
      This has a direct influence on your stools. Especially with obstipation, the liquid level in your intestines is of importance. 
   2. Toilet behavior and your toilet habits. 
      Read through my tips for toilet behavior. It’s important that you don’t put too much pressure. I’ve also gathered tips for how you can induce your stools or how you can hold it up. 
   3. Relaxation exercises for the anus, sphincter, or pelvic floor. 
      If you have a pelvic floor muscle group that’s too tight, then relaxing them is your most important goal. Look at my relaxation exercises and tips. 
   4. Strength exercises for the anus, sphincter, or pelvic floor. 
      You can also perform muscle strengthening exercises yourself when it’s about the anus or the pelvic floor muscles. Take a look and find out if it is helpful for you. It’s also recommended for healthy people to do these exercises. This prevents issues in the future. 
   5. Exercises that you can apply to daily life. 
      It’s important to think about daily actions. Tense up some muscles when you stand up or sit down, for example. Like that you prevent stool loss. Take a look at my daily tips. 

For the rest, stool loss is a nasty problem. You can get embarrassed about it and avoid social and sporty activities. We have to prevent you from isolating yourself. It’s extremely important that you can keep feeling good at home, but also outside. 

Of course there are options for it. For example, you can make use of an anal tampon. You can get those through a referral from your doc. After visiting your doc, you can have an appointment with a continence nurse. The continence nurse can provide you with all sorts of advises. Look for help, because the proper help is out there. Prevent yourself from going out of the house, it would really be a shame. There is always someone out there that can help you! 

And lastly, are you looking for more information? 

Hopefully this information was useful to you! We’ve discussed the rectal balloon treatment, what it is, what it can help you with, and what other advises you can follow during this treatment. If you’re still looking for some more information, feel free to take another look around on the website. It’s filled with in-depth information, tips a webshop and also exercises. I still have a lot of articles with lots of information about other symptoms and issues. Feel free to click on the blue words to take you straight to the right page.