If you suffer from pelvic organ prolapse due to pregnancy, childbirth, menopause, and/or age, and you’re looking for treatment choices to assist strengthen your pelvic floor muscles and alleviate signs and discomfort, you’ve come to the proper place! Pelvic organ prolapse can be an embarrassing and uncomfortable condition, and it’s extra common that many individuals realize. We’re sharing everything you want to know, together with the different types of pelvic organ prolapse, associated symptoms, treatment options, and exercises below.
What Is Pelvic Organ Prolapse?
Pelvic organ prolapse happens when a number of of your pelvic organs (bladder, uterus, small bowel, rectum, and/or vagina) drops from it’s regular place and strikes into or outside of your vaginal canal or anus. This can happen for a lot of different reasons, together with pregnancy, childbirth, hysterectomy, constipation, chronic coughing due to respiratory problems, being obese, and something else that places pressure in your belly.
What Are The Different Types of Pelvic Organ Prolapse?
- Cystocele. This is the most common type of pelvic organ prolapse, and happens when the bladder prolapses into the vagina.
- Uterine Prolapse. Prolapse of the uterus.
- Urethrocele. Prolapse of the urethra (the tube that carries urine from the bladder).
- Rectocele. Prolapse of the rectum.
- Enterocele. Prolapse of the small bowel.
- Vaginal Vault Prolapse. Prolapse of the vaginal walls.
What Are the Symptoms of Pelvic Organ Prolapse?
- A feeling of pressure or fullness inside the decrease stomach from pelvic organs urgent in your vaginal wall
- A feeling that one thing is falling out of your vagina
- Vaginal spotting/bleeding
- Painful intercourse
- Lower again ache
- Urinary incontinence and/or a constant urge to urinate
- Constipation
Is Pelvic Organ Prolapse Dangerous?
While uncomfortable and sometimes embarrassing, pelvic organ prolapse is generally not a harmful condition. It’s a quite common condition, and many ladies leave their prolapse untreated unless their prolapse and associated signs are severe.
5 Treatments for Pelvic Organ Prolapse
1. Lifestyle changes
If you’re looking for non-invasive pelvic organ prolapse treatment options, one of many first issues you ought to consider is your lifestyle and the way it could additionally be inflicting and/or worsening your symptoms. Weight loss, consuming adequate fiber to reduce constipation, and giving up smoking to reduce coughing can all be helpful. You ought to additionally keep away from exercises that make pelvic organ prolapse worse, together with running, jumping, and skipping, keep away from lifting heavy objects, and keep away from strength coaching exercises such as sit-ups and abdominal crunches, planks, abdominal train machines, wide leg and machine squats, and leg presses.
2. Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy/Exercises
There are sure exercises you are able to do at home to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles and relieve symptoms, and your physician could make suggestions for you based on the type and severity of your prolapse. You can additionally search the assistance of a pelvic floor physiotherapist who can create a series of exercises for you, and make sure you are doing them correctly. If you’re interested in trying pelvic floor exercises at home, see below for six exercises you can stream for free!
3. Pessary
A pessary is one other non-surgical intervention for prolapse your physician may recommend. A pessary is a soft and detachable device that’s inserted into the vagina to reduce prolapse inside the vagina, support the pelvic region, and relieve pressure from the bladder and bowel. Pessaries come in lots of shapes and sizes, and your physician will match you for one based in your size and needs. Pessaries are recommended for women who’ve bothersome signs of pelvic organ prolapse and are both attempting to keep away from surgical intervention, or aren’t a candidate due to different medical conditions. They are additionally useful for women who leak urine when coughing, straining, or exercising, and people that expertise incontinence throughout pregnancy.
RELATED: Restoring the Pelvic Floor
4. Hormone therapy
Hormone remedy is sometimes recommended for women who’ve been through menopause, have a mild prolapse, and expertise vaginal dryness and discomfort throughout intercourse.
5. Surgery
If your prolapse is extreme and non-surgical choices aren’t working, there are many different surgical choices aimed at correcting the prolapse, relieving pelvic pressure, and maintaining/improving vaginal sexual function. Surgical choices include lifting and supporting the pelvic organs, inserting a vaginal mesh to carry the pelvic organs in place, hysterectomy, and shutting the vagina. As with all surgeries, there are dangers associated to surgical procedure for pelvic organ prolapse, together with infection, difficulty emptying your bladder and/or incontinence, and painful intercourse. There is additionally an opportunity your pelvic organ prolapse will come again after surgery. Your age, plans for having children, and well being will all be considered earlier than surgical procedure is recommended by your doctor
6 Pelvic Organ Prolapse Exercises
If you’re looking for pelvic organ prolapse exercises you are able to do at home to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles and alleviate signs and discomfort, there are a lot of useful and informative movies you can stream for free on YouTube. Here are 6 to get you started!
Kegel Exercises | Michelle Kenway
If you’re searching for information on how to deal with pelvic organ prolapse, chances are you’ve heard about kegel exercises. They are a fabulous train you are able to do to assist strengthen your pelvic floor and prevent/manage incontinence, however solely a few people know how to do them correctly. This is a nice introductory video to show you the proper technique!
Prolapse and Exercise: To Do, and To Avoid! | FemFusion Fitness
If you want to know which sorts of exercises to keep away from with a prolapse, and what safe alternatives you can try, that’s a fabulous instructional video for beginners!
Pelvic Floor Safe Core Exercises | Michelle Kenway
As talked about previously, strength coaching exercises such as sit-ups and abdominal crunches, planks, abdominal train machines, wide leg and machine squats, and leg presses could make pelvic organ prolapse worse. If you’re looking for a core train routine to assist strengthen and tone your core abdominal muscles with out making your prolapse worse, that’s a nice video to watch. It explains which exercises to keep away from (and why), which of them are safe, and the way to do them correctly.
15-min Crunchless Abs | FemFusion Fitness
This is one other nice train for women who’ve a prolapse and want to tighten and tone their abdominal muscles. All you want is an train mat and a yoga block!
Prolapse Exercises – 5 Safe Strength Exercises for Women | Michelle Kenway
If you’re looking for strength coaching exercises you are able to do to tighten and tone your legs, back, and higher physique that won’t worse your prolapse, seize an train ball and a set of dumbbells and provides this set of 5 exercises a go!
Yin Yoga for Prolapse | FemFusion Fitness
This 40-minute full physique stretch is designed particularly for women with prolapse, and she shares so many nice tips and life classes to maintain you motivated and inspired.
If you suffer from pelvic organ prolapse, I hope the information on this post proves useful to you! Remember that that’s a common condition, and discuss treatment choices with your physician with out feeling embarrassed.
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