Do you have any of the following symptoms?
- Feeling or seeing something “falling out” of my vagina.
- Experiencing a bulging sensation in my vagina, especially with physical activity or with bowel movements.
- Having a sensation of pelvic heaviness or low sacral backache associated (usually temporarily) with bulge or falling out feeling.
- Dribbling urine when standing up from the toilet.
- I weigh more than I would like to, or more than what my doctor has told me is ideal.
- The need to apply manual pressure to the perineum, or vagina to assist with emptying the bladder or the bowel.
If you answered yes then you may have pelvic organ prolapse! There are many ways of treating pelvic organ prolapse conservatively (without surgery). Pelvic floor physical therapy may reduce your symptoms on pelvic organ prolapse.
What is pelvic organ prolapse?
Pelvic Organ Prolapse occurs when a pelvic organ or organs cave onto the vaginal canal. This can have many causes but some of the most common are weakened support structures like ligaments and muscles of the pelvis. Prolapse can occur in different areas of the vagina: the bladder can bulge against the front of the vaginal canal (front or anterior prolapse), the uterus can drop into the vaginal canal (middle or top prolapse), and the rectum can bulge against the back of the vaginal canal (back or posterior prolapse), or the rectum can cave in onto itself (rectal prolapse). The severity of the prolapse is measured by grades 0-4, 0 being normal and 4 being severe. Stages 0-3 usually respond great to pelvic floor physical therapy and usually do not require surgery.
What can I do to improve or prevent the worsening of pelvic organ prolapse?
The most important thing would be to provide increased support to the organs by strengthening the core and pelvic floor muscles. This should be done under the guidance of a pelvic floor physical therapist. It is also important to prevent straining to have a bowel movement. Pelvic floor physical therapists can teach you the right positioning and mechanics of emptying and ways to avoid constipation. Your physical therapist may also suggest using a pessary (a device that inserts into the vagina to help support the vaginal walls). Contact Total Performance today to get started.
