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  • Christine Trumble PT OCS,WCS

New information on a Prolapse


Often a prolapse is deemed "not that serious" or "nothing to worry about." Despite that classification, you can have discomfort. More evidence is showing the discomfort may be coming from the pelvic floor muscles vs. the actual prolapse alone. You should get evaluated by a Pelvic PT to get strategies to address the prolapse but also figure out what structures are causing you to be uncomfortable.

Many women are told they have a "bit of a prolapse" but told not to worry about it and " just don't do any heavy lifting." What is heavy lifting? Is it lifting 10lbs throughout the day of cleaning a garage? Don't lift the 50lb bales of hay to feed the horses? Should I stop working out at the gym? Can I still lift my grandchildren?

Lifting, coughing, sneezing,and laughing all cause an increase in the pressure that your pelvic floor has to manage. In some situations, this can result in stress incontinence. Which is an issue you can address as well, but this blog is about prolapse.

Our bladder, rectum and uterus are organs in the pelvis that are suspended by ligaments and fascia above the pelvic floor. When an increase in pressure happens in the pelvis, the ligaments support from above, and the pelvic floor muscles support from below. The strength of ligaments has a genetic component- some women just have "loose" ligaments. Other contributing factors include pregnancy, delivery, chronic constipation, frequent heavy lifting and chronic coughing are some examples.

As you can see, due to contributing factors that are listed above, many women are walking around with some degree of prolapse, but it is not causing any issues and are unaware of it. Feeling pressure, like something is falling out or having issues emptying our rectum/bladder are some things we could start to experience. Some women never experience symptoms.

If a health practioner says that you have a "bit of a prolapse" or you notice other changes in YOUR NORMAL , it is time to seek out a Pelvic Floor PT. A recent study found that some ""symptoms" of a prolapse were actually other issues with the pelvic floor that could be addressed as well. Women need to be proactive in recognizing that something is "not right" or "different" and let a Pelvic PT help identify the structures and mechanisms that are involved and come up with a plan to address your concerns and symptoms.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/30874833?sfns=mo

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