Given the popularity of anal sex, I thought you’d enjoy a few medical facts about your own butt. If you’re surprised by any of this, then I’m extra glad I could share this with you.
1. We Have Two Anal Sphincters
We commonly refer to the anal sphincter as if it was one thing but all humans have two sphincters in our butts. One is inside us and the other is outside and visible. Deep inside us, both are close enough to share sympathetic fibers and work together to maintain our anal health, but they are separate rings of muscle which function somewhat differently.
The internal anal sphincter (IAS) is deep inside the tushie. It’s made up of “involuntary muscle” which reacts according to biological signals. We can’t control it through our minds. The IAS keeps the anal opening sealed from the inside, and accounts for 55% of the pressure that keeps the poop inside our bodies. Injury and aging can diminish IAS function. Diminished IAS function causes anal incontinence (meaning poops comes out involuntarily). It’s not a problem anyone wants to have but doctors have lots of experience healing it, so you have a choice of treatments to fix the problem depending on the severity of damage.
The external anal sphincter is the elliptical pucker you see at the surface of the anus. It’s also a bit more complicated than it looks because beneath that pucker is a second, deeper layer of tissue you don’t see which extends down into your body. Its function is to block off the anal opening from the outside. It operates in tandem with the internal sphincter both to prevent unwanted elimination and to help you push out when you want to eliminate.
The external one is also different from the IAS because we can control the external one consciously. At rest, it holds everything in and we can clench it even tighter too. We can also learn to relax it to make anal penetration feel better.
According to some medical doctors,
anal sex raises the risk of anal incontinence
2. Anal Sex Doesn’t Wear Out the Rectum (but it could destroy your sphincter)
One of the biggest viral myths is the idea that you can blow out a rectum with “too much” anal sex. Not true. The rectal canal doesn’t contain skin that can be stretched. It has different tissues which expand and contract depending on what’s happening with your bowels. If you ever had a giant poop, you know what I’m talking about. The rectum normally springs back to its usual shape, fit as a fiddle, after anal sex, whether you used a hand, a penis, or a sex toy.
How you might sexually damage your butt
The real danger of anal sex is not stretching out the rectum. The real danger is if you injure your Internal Anal Sphincter. That, erm… well, that’s when the shit may hit the fan. According to a medical study of the subject, anal sex can lead to anal incontinence because people accidentally tear or injure the IAS.
Still, as the doctor reviewing the study pointed out, we don’t know the specifics of people who report such damage. Did they lube properly? Did they push their bodies to the breaking point and suffer the consequences of anal over-achieving? How big was their dildo?? Anecdotally, we know that lots of people do it, love it, and don’t end up with torn up butts. So until we have more data to understand anal sex habits, it’s hard to feel fully confident that anal sex is itself unsafe. Vaginal sex is also injurious when someone pushes it too hard and tears through sensitive tissue. When it comes to sex, cluelessness and impatience can kill (or leave you red-faced in an emergency room).
Instead, please take the medical point of view as a cautionary that should guide your anal sex adventures. Unless you know how to do it, don’t do it. Biologically, the anus was naturally designed to push waste out of our bodies, unlike the vaginal canal, which was designed for two-way traffic (babies out and penises in, and not in that order). To assist with penetration, the vagina self-lubricates and stretches inside to accommodate big toys and large organs during penetration. The anus can stretch too but you will need to retrain and deeply relax the sphincter for it to feel good and to be safe.
All this translates to a simple point: find your own comfort level with anal sex and stop if it hurts. If you push too fast, too hard, or try to force something in there, you can tear up the sensitive inner tissues or damage the internal sphincter permanently. Emergency rooms constantly have to deal with people who injured themselves through foolish choices and lack of understanding about how to do anal sex.
Successful anal penetration depends on keeping the anus as lubed up as possible and learning to relax the muscles that instinctively push back. Never ram anything in there. Start with something small (a finger or two, a small toy) and gradually work to sensually help the muscles relax back there. Some people will never be able to take more than a small toy before feeling pain while others can train themselves to ride a rubber monster cock with no ill effects.
Limit your risk exposure and follow the basic guidelines — lots of lube, slow stretching, and learning how to relax those muscles. If you do anal with casual partners or anyone whose STI status you don’t know, please use condoms and latex gloves to prevent the transmission of HIV, Zika, and other sexually transmitted infections.
3. People with Big Butts Live Longer
If you ever looked disparagingly at someone who carries their weight in their butt and thighs, look again: they may be healthier than your small-assed self. Studies have shown that people with big butts live longer when compared to people who carry weight in the front.
Fat transfers attract more fat cells into the area
and will grow if you gain weight.
Stomach fat is considered to be the most dangerous fat to have, with risks for diabetes, heart conditions, and more. The fat around your stomach transmits free fatty acids which are bad for you. The fat around your hips and thighs, on the other hand, stores those fatty acids, so they do not travel to your heart. And while stomach fat can release harmful hormones, lower body fat releases beneficial hormones. So if you were born to have a pear-shaped body (big butt or thighs, normal waist) instead of an apple-shaped body (slim legs, big belly) your overall health picture and chances of longevity are better.
Can You Trick Your Ass Into Thinking It’s Bigger?
The science isn’t quite there yet, but some doctors have recently speculated that there may be an unexpected benefit in getting fat injected to your butt. Unlike artificial (silicone) implants, when a doctor extracts fat from one part of your body and transfers it to your butt, the fat deposited in your posterior may draw more fat cells into the area. If you put on a bunch of weight, that means the newly deposited fat will grow.
This applies to any and all fat grafts or injection, by the way. The spot where fat was transferred will grow if you put on a lot of weight because they are still acting like fat cells. Those fat transfers people are using to fill in spots all over their bodies contain living cells that continue to thrive and function normally in your body. So if you have a lot of healthy fat cells pumped in your behind, even after expected die-off (about 50% of a fat injection is typically rejected or absorbed by the body within three months after the procedure), the remaining fat cells will respond to weight gains and attract more fat cells. Even if you maintain your weight, the additional “good fat” below the waist will change your body’s normal from apple to pear permanently. And that means your body will reward you with the same benefits as naturally big-butted people get from their fat distribution.. And this could potentially extend your life.
That’s right: a fat ass is a survival strategy. Who knew?
