What causes intense shooting pain in the rectum?

Anal fissures cause sharp, knife-like or tearing pain in the rectum, according to eMedicineHealth. Other causes of rectal pain include hemorrhoids, cancer, prostate problems, or fleeting anal spasms, a condition known as proctalgia fugax, according to eMedicineHealth. Levator ani syndrome can also cause rectum pain.

Straining during bowel movements, heavy lifting and childbirth often cause hemorrhoids, leading to rectal pain, notes eMedicineHealth. Anal fissures often occur when passing large or hard stool or in people with overly taut anal sphincter muscles, resulting in pain in the rectum. Proctalgia fugax, or fleeting anal spasms, may result from spasms of the anal sphincter muscle, but medical science is unclear on the exact cause of the condition, as of 2015. Levator ani syndrome causes spasms of the levator ani muscles supporting the anus, often leading to rectal discomfort.