Painful constipation: a neglected entity?

Functional chronic constipation is a common symptom in daily clinical practice. Although the definition of constipation may be variable, there is usually agreement that (at least for research purposes) the definition given by the Rome Committee are useful. However, some blind spots or hidden angles remain, even in the more thorough classifications; among these, there is painful constipation, a poorly defined yet clinically encountered entity. The present article reviews the current knowledge about painful constipation, trying to put together the scarce data available, and to frame it in the more general context of chronic constipation.