Fascia and ligaments are supporting tissues that hold your pelvic organs in place. Also, pelvic floor muscles hold these organs up from below. A tear or stretch in these supporting tissues can make your pelvic organs bulge or sag into your vagina. This can also happen when the pelvic floor muscles become weak. This is called a pelvic prolapse. When this happens, you may experience symptoms like pelvic pain or pressure, urinary issues, constipation, and painful sex. Once the prolapse is further down, it can cause you to experience symptoms such as difficulty emptying your bladder or bowel, a heavy sensation in your vagina, a weak urine stream, recurring urinary tract infections, and others. A prolapse may bulge outside your body, making you feel sore.
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Cause of Pelvic Prolapse
Often, Las Vegas pelvic prolapse results from carrying and delivering children through the vagina because this can weaken your pelvic floor. Also, you can be vulnerable to this condition as you get older, if you are overweight, and have a condition that forces you to cough frequently.
However, even women who have not delivered a baby may experience a prolapse. This can happen when they lift heavy loads or strain on the toilet. Also, prolapse can occur in those who went through a hysterectomy, which involves the removal of the womb. In this case, a prolapse occurs in the vagina’s top part.
Treating Pelvic Prolapse
If you consult a doctor for pelvic prolapse, you may be asked to undergo pelvic floor therapy that includes Kegel exercises. This involves squeezing and releasing the muscles used for holding in gas to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. Doctors recommend doing Kegels immediately. Physical therapists can make use of techniques such as biofeedback, so you can find the muscles you need to squeeze. Combining physical therapy and Kegels may help relieve symptoms of prolapse.
In addition, your doctor may recommend the use of a pessary, which is a device inserted into your vagina to support the organs that have prolapsed. If you don’t want to use this device, you can consider surgery. The kind of surgery for you depends on the seriousness and location of the prolapse as well as other health problems. Usually, those who have uterine prolapse will need a hysterectomy. Those who are at risk of experiencing prolapse repeatedly may have undergone sacrocolpopexy. During this procedure, the surgeon will create small incisions in your abdomen and work through them to reposition your pelvic organs back.
Preventing Prolapse
Pelvic prolapse occurs because of weak pelvic tissues and pelvic floor muscles. Thus, you should keep these tissues and muscles strong regardless of your age. You can make these muscles stronger by performing the right exercises. Ensure an expert checks your pelvic floor muscle training technique to ensure you are doing it right. Additionally, if you are overweight, you must shed some pounds. It is also important to quit smoking since this can result in repetitive coughing, which tends to increase abdominal and pelvic pressure. Whenever you lift heavy objects, you can avoid a prolapse by pulling in your lower abdominal muscles and tightening your pelvic floor muscles.