In an ideal world, the organs in your pelvis, which include reproductive, digestive, and urinary systems, stay in their positions where they can function best. For the 40% of women who develop pelvic organ prolapse (POP), this is no longer the case, and this shift in pelvic organs can lead to some serious quality of life issues, such as urinary incontinence.
Given the different systems that are affected by pelvic organ prolapse, we categorize this condition under urogynecology, an area of expertise with which the women’s health experts here at Capital Women’s Care are very familiar.
While we can certainly treat existing POP, our goal is to help our patients avoid this common issue in the first place through preventive practices that we outline here.
As we already mentioned, there are a number of different organs and systems that call the pelvis home, such as your reproductive organs, intestines, and urinary tract.
To keep these organs in their correct positions, your pelvis features a group of connective tissues that form a pelvic floor. Think of your pelvic floor like a taut hammock that supports your organs from below.
The primary cause of pelvic organ prolapse is a weakening in the pelvic floor, which is often fueled by pregnancy, delivery, and aging.
There are different types of prolapse, which is a catch-all term for organs that shift downward, often into other organs. For example, the most common type of POP is cystocele, which occurs when your bladder drops down into your vagina. Other types are rectocele (your rectum bulges into your vagina), vaginal vault (the top of your vagina collapses downward), and uterine prolapse (your uterus drops into your vagina).
Since POP stems from a weak pelvic floor, the number one preventive practice is to strengthen this group of tissues through targeted exercises. Called Kegels, these exercises are designed to isolate and strengthen the muscles in your pelvic floor so they can continue to support your pelvic organs.
Think of doing a Kegel like you’re trying to stop your urine in midstream — when you do that, you’re squeezing your pelvic floor. The key to good Kegels is to isolate and squeeze these muscles without engaging your stronger abdominal muscles.
So, to get started, we suggest lying down to deactivate your abdominal muscles. Once you’re in this position, squeeze your vaginal and anal openings and hold for three seconds. Repeat this ten times and do a total of three sets throughout the day.
As your pelvic floor strengthens, you can do your Kegels anywhere — while you drive your car or watch TV, for example. We also want you to extend the hold time from 3 seconds to 10 seconds as you progress.
All women can benefit from adding Kegels to their daily routine, especially as they get older and pass through perimenopause and into menopause.
There are other risk factors for POP, such as being overweight or having obesity, which places more pressure on your pelvic floor. In these cases, weight loss may help prevent POP.
Another road to POP is chronic constipation, which can weaken your pelvic floor due to chronic straining to have a bowel movement. If you’re struggling with constipation, it’s a good idea to get medical help for the problem to avoid this complication.
Reducing the risk factors over which you have some control is a great way to keep your pelvic floor strong so it’s able to properly support your pelvic organs.
If you’d like a more customized plan for POP prevention that addresses your unique set of risk factors, please contact one of our three conveniently located offices in Frederick and Mount Airy, Maryland.
