[Irritable bowel syndrome, levator ani syndrome, proctalgia fugax and chronic pelvic and perineal pain].
OBJECTIVE
To define functional gastrointestinal pain, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), levator ani syndrome, proctalgia fugax, the pathophysiology of these syndromes and the treatments that can be proposed.


METHODS
Review of articles published on the theme based on a Medline (PubMed) search and consensus conferences selected according to their scientific relevance.


RESULTS
IBS is very common. Patients report abdominal pain and/or discomfort, bloating, and abnormal bowel habit (diarrhoea, constipation or both), in the absence of any structural or biochemical abnormalities. IBS has a complex, multifactorial pathophysiology, involving biological and psychosocial interactions resulting in dysregulation of the brain-gut axis associated with disorders of intestinal motility, hyperalgesia, immune disorders and disorders of the intestinal bacterial microflora and autonomic and hormonal dysfunction. Many treatments have been proposed, ranging from diet to pharmacology and psychotherapy.


CONCLUSIONS
Patients with various types of chronic pelvic and perineal pain, especially those seen in urology departments, very often report associated IBS. This syndrome is also part of a global and integrated concept of pelviperineal dysfunction, avoiding a rigorous distinction between the posterior segment and the midline and anterior segments of the perineum.
Unité de pelvi-périnéologie, faculté de médecine et des sciences de la santé, université de Sherbrooke, Hôtel-Dieu de Sherbrooke, 580, rue Bowen Sud Sherbrooke Québec Canada J1G2EB.
Alain
A
Watier
Jérôme
J
Rigaud
Jean-Jacques
JJ
Labat
D001004:Anus Diseases / Q000150:complications; D002908:Chronic Disease; D006801:Humans; D043183:Irritable Bowel Syndrome / Q000150:complications* / Q000628:therapy; D010146:Pain / Q000150:complications; D017699:Pelvic Pain / Q000209:etiology*; D010502:Perineum