The pelvic floor is basically a group of muscles that creates a hammock in your pelvic opening. Generally, these muscles and the surrounding tissues keep the pelvic organs in the right place. The organs are your bladder, uterus, small bowel, vagina and rectum. In some cases, these muscles and tissues can go through certain issues. Some women develop pelvic floor problems post childbirth. As their age increases, pelvic organ prolapse can be a more common occurence.
Dr. Tanaya Narendra or famous as Dr. Cuterus took to his Instagram handle and shared a video in which she can be seen explaining that urinating in public toilets by not completely sitting on the toilet seat can be problematic for you. If your pelvic floors are not supporting the organs strongly, then there is a higher risk of pelvic organ prolapse. Therefore, make sure to sit properly on the toilet seat while peeing.
Check out the video post:
View this post on InstagramTop Stories
-1751527287915.png)
-1751352905978.jpg)
Pelvic organ prolapse symptoms
The symptoms of this disorder may depend on which organ is falling out. In most of the cases, signs are mild in the morning but can get worse as the day progresses. Here are the main symptoms of pelvic organ prolapse:
- Pressure or fullness in the pelvic area
- Constipation
- Painful intercourse
- Feeling of something falling out of the vagina
- Lower back pain
- Urine leaking or chronic urge to urinate
- Poor bowel control
- Spotting or bleeding from the vagina
Causes of pelvic organ prolapse
Basically, prolapse means the descending or falling down of organs. Pelvic organ prolapse is named as the drooping of any of your pelvic floor organs, such as the bladder, vagina, uterus, small bowel and rectum. Anything that can put pressure on the abdomen can cause a pelvic organ prolapse. The main causes of pelvic organ prolapse are:
- Obesity
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Constipation
- Respiratory issues with chronic cough
- Pelvic organ cancers
- Hysterectomy
- Genetics
Pelvic organ prolapse treatment
If you think you are experiencing any symptoms of a pelvic organ prolapse, then talk to the doctor. The expert will ask you about your medical history and check your pelvic organs to get an idea about the strength in your pelvic floor muscles. The health care provider might also try to know more about your pelvic organ prolapse during a routine pelvic exam, such as the one you get in the pap smear.
There are both surgical and non-surgical methods that can help in treating uterine prolapse. The doctor will choose your treatment option on the basis of severity of your drooping organs, overall health, age and whether or not you want children. Treatment is mostly effective in women. Treatment of pelvic organ prolapse also depends on the severity of symptoms. The treatment can include a number of therapies, such as:
Behavioral treatments: These include physical therapy to strengthen the core muscles and kegel exercises for the pelvic floor muscles. There are some special exercises or also called Kegel exercises that can help in making your pelvic floor muscles stronger. This might be one of the best non surgical treatments required in mild cases of uterine prolapse. To practice kegel exercises, you have to tighten your pelvic muscles like you hold back the urine. Hold your muscles tightly for a few seconds and then release them. Do this atleast 10 times.
Mechanical treatments: Mechanical treatment like inserting a small plastic device known as a pessary into the vagina to give support for the prolapsing organs
Surgical treatment: Surgical treatment can be helpful in repairing the affected tissue or organ or to remove the organ (removal of the uterus by undergoing a hysterectomy)
If you do not get treated for uterine prolapse, it can affect other organs in the pelvic area of the body. A prolapsed uterus can cause many bowel and bladder problems. It can even leave a negative effect on your sex life, leading to pain. You might not be able to prevent each and every case of uterine prolapse, but there are many ways that can reduce your risk of developing a pelvic organ prolapse.