To recover from a pelvic organ prolapse (POP), focus on strengthening your pelvic floor muscles through Kegel exercises, maintaining a healthy weight, avoiding heavy lifting, managing constipation with a high-fiber diet, quitting smoking, and consulting a pelvic floor physical therapist for tailored exercises and guidance on managing symptoms; if you’ve had surgery, follow your doctor’s instructions regarding activity limitations and recovery time.
Key strategies for POP recovery:
- Pelvic Floor Exercises (Kegels):Regularly perform Kegel exercises to strengthen the muscles supporting your pelvic organs; consult a healthcare professional for proper technique.
- Dietary Modifications:
- High-Fiber Diet: Eat plenty of fiber-rich foods and drink adequate water to prevent constipation, which can strain your pelvic floor.
- Fluid Intake: Stay hydrated to support bowel regularity.
- Weight Management:If overweight, work towards a healthy weight to reduce pressure on your pelvic floor.
- Lifting Techniques:
- Proper Lifting Form: When lifting objects, bend your knees and keep your back straight to minimize strain.
- Avoid Heavy Lifting: Limit lifting heavy items or ask for help when necessary.
- Smoking Cessation:Quit smoking as it can worsen symptoms due to chronic coughing.
- Activity Modification:
- Avoid Straining Activities: Limit activities that put excessive pressure on your pelvic floor, like strenuous exercise or prolonged standing.
- Gradual Return to Activity: Slowly reintroduce physical activity as tolerated, following your doctor’s recommendations.
- Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy:Consult a pelvic floor physical therapist for personalized exercises and treatment strategies to improve pelvic floor strength and function.
- Pessary Use:In some cases, a vaginal pessary may be used to support the prolapsed organs and alleviate symptoms.
Important Considerations:
- Communicate with your Doctor:Discuss your symptoms and concerns with your healthcare provider to determine the best management plan for your specific situation.
- Post-Surgical Care:If you undergo surgery to correct a prolapse, follow your surgeon’s instructions regarding activity limitations and recovery time.
Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is a very common occurrence among the female population of the world. POP results from a shift in the pelvic organs, like the bladder or uterus. These organs shift from their normal positions and end up pressing against the vaginal walls.
Research published by the National Institutes of Health reports that up to 50 percent of women will end up developing POP over their lifetime. While it can be distressing, there are ways to manage and recover from POP effectively.
In this article, we will explore a few valuable tips to help women navigate their journey to recovery with greater comfort and confidence.
1 Seek Professional Guidance
The first step in dealing with pelvic organ prolapse is seeking professional guidance. POP can manifest in various forms and severity levels, and its treatment and management should be tailored to each individual.
WebMD suggests that you take your concerns to a gynecologist or urogynecologist. They can diagnose the extent of the prolapse and then provide you with personalized guidance on the best course of action.
Your healthcare provider may recommend conservative treatments such as pelvic floor exercises or lifestyle changes if the prolapse is mild. For more severe cases, surgical intervention may be necessary.
2 Surgical Options
For severe cases of pelvic organ prolapse or when conservative treatments are ineffective, surgical intervention may be necessary. Surgical options for POP include various techniques, like vaginal wall repair, mesh implants, and removal of the uterus. The choice of surgery will depend on the extent of the prolapse and individual circumstances.
Surgery should always be a last resort after trying conservative treatments. Also, remember to always discuss the risks, benefits, and potential health complications of the surgery with your healthcare provider before proceeding.
Of course, you might be wondering what can be used instead of mesh for prolapse. After all, not many people are too eager to opt for transvaginal mesh. Besides, at times, faulty vaginal mesh products can lead to serious complications.
According to TruLaw, many mesh manufacturers are currently being sued as their products are unsafe and inefficient. These companies are spending millions of dollars to fight these transvaginal mesh lawsuits.
Thus, it’s reasonable to look for non-surgical options when dealing with POP. Such options include things like lifestyle adjustments and exercise.
3 Lifestyle Adjustments
In addition to medical interventions and exercises, making certain lifestyle adjustments can significantly contribute to pelvic organ prolapse recovery. These changes can help reduce symptoms and prevent the condition from worsening. Some key lifestyle modifications to consider include:
- Weight management: It is essential to manage a healthy weight, as surplus body weight can exert additional pressure on the pelvic floor muscles. If you’re overweight, consult with a healthcare provider to develop a weight loss plan that suits your needs.
- Dietary changes: Eating a balanced diet rich in fiber can help prevent constipation, which can exacerbate POP symptoms. Staying hydrated is also essential for bowel regularity.
- Proper lifting techniques: When lifting heavy objects, use your legs and not your back to reduce pressure on the pelvic floor. Additionally, avoid heavy lifting whenever possible.
- Avoiding straining: Straining during bowel movements can worsen POP symptoms. Make sure you have adequate fiber in your diet to prevent constipation, and consider using a stool softener if needed.
- Quitting smoking: Smoking can weaken connective tissues, making POP symptoms worse. Quitting smoking can have a positive impact on your overall health and may help reduce POP discomfort.
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4 Kegel Exercises
According to the Cleveland Clinic, Kegel exercises are an essential component of pelvic organ prolapse recovery. They target the muscles in the pelvic floor and can help strengthen and support the affected organs.
To do Kegel exercises, keep the following tips in mind.
- Identify the muscles: Stopping the urine flow when you’re using the restroom. The muscles that you use to do so are your pelvic floor muscles. These are the muscles you’ll be working on.
- Contract and hold: Once you’ve identified the muscles, contract them and hold for a count of up to five seconds.
- Release and relax: After holding, release and relax the muscles for the same amount of time.
- Repeat: Do 15 repetitions of this exercise at least three times a day.
Over time, you should notice improvements in the strength and stability of your pelvic floor. That, in turn, can help alleviate the symptoms of POP.
Conclusion
Pelvic organ prolapse can get very complicated. However, if you take the right steps at the right time, dealing with POP won’t be that big of a problem. Just keep these tips in mind as you begin your journey towards recovery. Slowly but surely, these tips will help you recover from your POP complications.
Wear loose, comfortable clothing and avoid anything that puts pressure on your belly, such as a girdle, for a few weeks. Your doctor may recommend pelvic floor (Kegel) exercises, which tighten and strengthen pelvic muscles, once you have completely healed.
How long does pelvic organ prolapse take to heal?
Most often, the prolapsed organ is returned to its original position and anchored with a synthetic material. As with vaginal surgery, recovery time is short, typically about two weeks, and your doctor may recommend limiting activities, such as lifting, exercise, and sexual activity, for about six weeks.
How can I make my prolapse feel better?
Doing pelvic floor exercises will strengthen your pelvic floor muscles and may well relieve your symptoms. A GP or specialist may recommend a programme of supervised pelvic floor muscle training for at least 16 weeks before you move on to other treatments or surgery.
Is it OK to push prolapse back up?
No, you can’t push a prolapsed vagina back up. Your healthcare provider is the only person who should treat a prolapsed vagina. You may be able to feel a prolapse, and you may need to push the prolapse back up to poop or pee, but pushing the prolapse back up is temporary and will not permanently fix the prolapse.
What should you not do with a prolapse?
Do not do activities that put pressure on your pelvic muscles. This includes heavy lifting and straining. Try exercises to tighten and strengthen your pelvic muscles. These are called Kegel exercises.
What shrinks a prolapse?
You cannot really shrink the prolapse. You can just restore your rectum to its normal position by manual reduction or surgery. In rectal prolapse, the rectum can only be shrunk when its mucosa is swollen due to the buildup of fluid in it.
How can I stop my prolapse from getting worse?
You might try to:
- Strengthen the muscles that support pelvic structures.
- Eat high-fiber foods and drink lots of fluids to avoid constipation.
- Avoid bearing down during bowel movements.
- Avoid heavy lifting.
- Control coughing.
- Lose weight if you’re overweight.
- Quit smoking.
How do you push a prolapse back into place?
The rectum must be pushed back inside manually. A soft, warm, wet cloth is used to apply gentle pressure to the mass to push it back through the anal opening. The person should lie on one side in a knee-chest position before applying pressure. This position allows gravity to help put the rectum back into position.
Can prolapse go back to normal?
Most women only have a mild prolapse that may even go away again after a few months or years. But it might gradually get worse over time. About half of all women who have a mild (first-grade or second-grade) pelvic organ prolapse also leak urine sometimes.
What exercises fix prolapse?
Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercises: Kegels can help make those muscles stronger and keep your prolapse from getting worse. To do a Kegel, go through the motions like you’re going to pee. Then, instead of letting it out, squeeze your muscles to stop the flow of urine midstream. Tighten those muscles for 5 seconds.
How not to sit with a prolapse?
Improve your posture by rolling your shoulders back and squeezing your shoulder blades together. This elongates the abdominals and untucks the pelvis. Sitting on an exercise ball v.s. a hard chair helps to take pressure off the lower back and pelvic floor muscles and allows for proper posture.
Is lying down good for prolapse?
These signs may be worse at the end of the day and you may feel better after lying down. If the prolapse bulges right outside your body, you may feel sore and bleed as it rubs on your underwear.
How did I heal my prolapse naturally?
I did physical therapy once a week for a few months, and I made great improvements in controlling my muscles. The therapist checked nerves and ligaments and had me contract my vagina with Kegel exercises. The goal was to get my muscles working properly so my organs had support, even if the ligaments were overstretched.