If you’re suffering from bloating and painful gas after hysterectomy, here’s how to shift gas and relieve gas pain and bloating at home.
Gas pain is one of the common and often unexpected side effects of hysterectomy. Some women also develop bowel control problems with gas after hysterectomy1.
This Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist information for relieving painful gas after hysterectomy includes:
These gas pain solutions help you shift gas, relieve abdominal discomfort and avoid gas build up.
Placing a warm pack or heat pad on your abdomen (belly) can relieve gas pain fast.
Check the temperature of your warm pack to ensure that it is warm to touch and not hot before resting it gently on your belly. Place the warm pack over clothing and avoid placing it directly on your skin.
It’s important to avoid placing the warm pack directly over abdominal hysterectomy wound or incisions; decreased sensation (feeling) is common after surgery and healing tissues can be susceptible to tissue burn.
These Physiotherapist exercises can help you pass gas and relieve gas pain after surgery.
Lying flat on your back is a very difficult position for shifting gas. Bowel movement (gut motility) slows down when you’re lying flat in bed and not moving, causing gas to build up and bloat your belly.
Lying on your right side with one pillow between your knees and another supporting your abdomen (belly) can help you shift gas more easily during early hysterectomy recovery.
During early post-hysterectomy recovery, you may find supported leaning forward is a helpful alternative position to ease gas pain. Support your upper body by resting your forearms or hands on a firm support such as the kitchen bench or a window sill.
Kneeling supporting your body through your hands or forearms and knees is another helpful position for shifting gas and relieving discomfort, but only when your body feels comfortable in this position.
Physical immobility during hysterectomy recovery is a major factor causing slowed gut motility and gas build up after a hysterectomy.
Walking is an great form of exercise for improving gut motility and eliminating gas after surgery.
These weekly guidelines for walking after hysterectomy help you know how much walking is safe to promote your hysterectomy recovery and return to regular activity.
Some foods increase the production of gas production in your bowel.
You may choose to limit or avoid these gas producing foods, particularly during early hysterectomy recovery (weeks 1-4):
The Low FODMAP Diet can reduce abdominal pain and bloating caused by specific foods in some adults with functional pain disorders2.
Carbonated beverages or soft drinks contain air bubbles which are swallowed along with drinking the liquid.
If you’re suffering from gas pain and drinking carbonated beverages, reducing your intake of soft drinks during your hysterectomy recovery may help you avoid gas build up and associated discomfort.
Take the time to chew your food thoroughly before swallowing.
Chewing your food well makes it more readily digested in your bowel. This can help food pass through your bowel faster and produce less gas.
It’s normal to swallow some air. Air that’s swallowed often stays in the stomach and is burped out. Some swallowed air passes through the digestive system (bowel) and this can increase gas after hysterectomy surgery.
Swallowing air is commonly caused by:
Warm drinks help to stimulate gut motility which can help you to shift gas and relieve pain.
Drinking a cup of warm water and then taking a short walk can promote movement of gas through your bowel to help your relieve gas pain.
Peppermint promotes gut motility and can be useful in alleviating post hysterectomy gas pain.
Avoid drinking peppermint tea if you have reflux or hiatus hernia to avoid worsening heart burn.
*Check with your doctor or pharmacist before drinking peppermint tea if you’re taking medication.
Hysterectomy surgery is usually associated with large doses of antibiotics to prevent post-operative infection. Antibiotics can cause an imbalance of intestinal bacteria.
Having an imbalance of gut bacteria may increase the amount of gas you produce after you eat.
Consuming sweets and fast food encourages unhelpful bacteria in the gut.
Prebiotic foods are known to feed beneficial gut flora. Helpful prebiotic foods include bananas, potatoes and asparagus. Some prebiotic foods are known to cause gas including legumes, garlic, leek and onion. You may choose to include these in your diet when your immediate gas pain has resolved.
Probiotics aim to improve intestinal motility and reduce intestinal fermentation and gas production. Probiotics may be helpful when added to the gut.
Speak to your pharmacist about your suitability for a course of probiotics. Many probiotics are readily available over the counter.
Eating yogurt may promote the growth and reestablishment of beneficial intestinal flora to help overcome bloating and gas.
After a hysterectomy, gut motility or the movement of the food and fluid you consume is slowed down.
Gas build up or wind is caused by a number of factors including:
Gas pain after hysterectomy surgery is one of the common unexpected side effects of this operation.
Try to incorporate one or more of these 10 solutions into your hysterectomy recovery to avoid and manage gas after hysterectomy.
» How to Avoid Side Effects of Hysterectomy – What Every Woman Should Know
» The Cause of Back Pain After Hysterectomy Women Need to Know
» 5 Physiotherapy Exercises for Relieving Lower Back Pain After Hysterectomy
» Walking after a Hysterectomy – Weekly Hysterectomy Exercise Guidelines
» How to Empty Your Bowels to Overcome Bowel Movement Problems (Video)
» Pelvic Floor Exercises After Hysterectomy – Physiotherapist Guided Video Routine (Video)
1. Altman D, Zetterström J, López A, Pollack J, Nordenstam J, Mellgren A. (2004) Effect of hysterectomy on bowel function. Dis Colon Rectum. Apr;47(4):502-8; discussion 508-9. Epub 2004 Mar 4.
Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14994113
2. Turco R, Salvatore S, Miele E, Romano C, Marseglia G, Staiano A.(2018) Does a low FODMAPs diet reduce symptoms of functional abdominal pain disorders? A systematic review in adult and paediatric population, on behalf of Italian Society of Pediatrics. Ital J Pediatr. 2018 May 15;44(1):53.Retrieved from https://ijponline.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13052-018-0495-8
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