Gastrointestinal or GI motility disorders are characterized by irregular gastrointestinal tract movements, disrupting food transit from the mouth to the anus. They are caused by damage or dysfunction in gut muscles or nerves. These disorders can cause symptoms such as severe constipation, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and swallowing difficulties. Disorders can affect any segment of the GI tract and range widely in severity, from common conditions like GERD to life-threatening conditions like gastroparesis.

Here are some common motility disorders:

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) features the reverse flow of stomach acid into the esophagus, leading to symptoms such as heartburn and discomfort. Achalasia occurs when the lower esophageal sphincter fails to relax appropriately, causing difficulties in swallowing and regurgitation of food. Another common motility disorder, constipation, shows infrequent bowel movements and difficulty in passing stool, typically due to dysfunction of large intestinal muscles involved in motility. A severe disorder, gastroparesis, affects mainly the muscular function of the stomach, which delays the emptying of food and leads to symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, pain, and bloating. Some functional GI conditions, such as Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and functional dyspepsia, are also associated with GI motor abnormalities. IBS leads to abdominal pain and abnormal bowel movements, causing either diarrhea or constipation. Functional dyspepsia affects the upper digestive tract. It may be associated with gastritis or NSAID usage. It causes stomach pain, bloating, early satiety, and postprandial fullness.