It’s estimated that 1 in 3 women may experience pelvic organ prolapse in their lifetime. Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is a condition when your pelvic organs bladder, uterus or rectum, herniate thru your vaginal canal.While it’s often assumed that POP is caused due to weak pelvic floor muscles, the true cause is excessive downward pressure on your pelvic organs. This could be due to,
- Excessive pushing during labour (too much too quickly).
- Chronic constipation and hence straining on the toilet.
- Lifting heavy weights without proper lifting techniques.
The early stages of prolapse could be improved or even reversed with physiotherapy specific to pelvic health. The later stages may need more aggressive interventions like using a pessary or going for surgical intervention.
Despite surgery, some women have a reoccurrence of prolapse, sometimes years later. This could be due to the fact that the surgery corrected the anatomy of prolapse but the underlying reason or cause of prolapse (excessive downward pressure in pelvic organs) continued on.
Hence, it’s advisable to see a pelvic health physio before and after, even if it’s deemed that you have surgery for the prolapse.
Anshul is a pelvic health physiotherapist servicing the Grey and Bruce county region. If you have pelvic organ prolapse, please contact us to book an appointment or you can directly book online as well. Anshul will do a thorough assessment to understand your current situation and give you focused personalized treatment plan to address your pelvic organ prolapse.
This article is not intended to replace any medical advice, if you have pelvic organ prolapse please consult your health care practitioner to arrive at a diagnosis and a proper treatment plan. Thank you.
Image courtesy: freepik.com