SH******T HAPPENS , ( conveniently or not!!) Bowel dysfunction in endurance racing continued.

SO , as I started to say a couple days ago.
The bowels moving is a good healthy event  , unless your in the middle of your 13.1, 26.2, 70.3 or 140.6, right?

So, as I already quoted, 59% of all endurance triathletes experience bowel dysfunction. I believe that number is totally underreported. I am going to say that 100% of endurance runners and triathletes have at least one episode of bowel dysfunction in training or in a race at some time. I think some people are just luckier in figuring out their SH*T quicker than others.

To define bowel dysfunction, it is also referred to as runners TROTTS, loose stools, urgent bowels, or incontinence.

The physiology of bowel function changes during extreme exercise:

In a nutshell , the increase in autonomic nervous system increases the sensitivity of the enteric nervous system resulting in possible change in circulating gut hormones. Also  decreases in intestinal blood flow can occur , and changes in nutrition and electrolyte absorption decrease intestinal secretion changing intestinal  motility.

The autonomic nervous system in itself increases motility of the bowel. I can truly say in 10 years of GI medicine, I don't meet constipated endurance athletes. So exercise ,( weight bearing exercise, jogging, running, aerobics, etc.) that jostles the bowels, gets the bowels to naturally want to move.

One major way bowel dysfunction takes place first and foremost is dehydration. Simple hydration before and during exercise decreases this scenario.
Dehydration is the precursor to several bad scenarios . Dehydration is first before electrolyte imbalances typically , unless  overhydrating is occurring causing electrolyte imbalance. That is an entirely different topic.

SO  to say it a bit differently, the bowels need proper hydration to work properly . Proper hydration keeps bowel secretions and motility properly balanced.  Easy enough right?

Another common scenario that athletes may bring on them selves that increase bowel dysfunction is use of analgesics with endurance exercise and racing. Analgesics are aspirin, Advil, Aleve, ibuprofen, and naproxen .

All of these products break down the protective prostaglandin lining of the stomach mucousa. When these are taken on a stomach that already has altered prostaglandin from  dehydration then the stomach acids , dump themselves to the duodenum. The duodenum is the first part of your small bowel. The duodenum hates acid and dumps its contents quickly through to the jejunum and then ileum, resulting in increase transit of stomach contents way too quickly through the small bowel to the colon, resulting in bowel dysfunction.

So my opinion, is only use analgesic post race if you need them, not before or during.

Nutrition pre race is the next challenge Because obviously what Goes in MUST come out !! So Diet is huge in this topic. . More later......., time to get the kids ready for bed.

I hope all this SH****T is making some sense.