How to Avoid Prolapse
Don’t let your bladder fall out!
“3 Tips to avoid prolapse!
was written by Dr. Marin Cole, DPT, a Physical Therapist at Empower Your Pelvis in Kansas City
Pelvic organ prolapse is when your bladder or uterus start bulging into the vaginal area and create symptoms of pressure or heaviness. Patients who have prolapse often report these symptoms but some do also complain of vaginal or pelvic pain and bladder or bowel symptoms such as urgency, incomplete emptying, or incontinence. Oftentimes our patients with prolapse have been referred to us by a urogynecologist or OBGYN who recommend starting with pelvic floor physical therapy instead of surgery or medication. I want to share with you three tips that we always emphasize with patients who are experiencing a pelvic organ prolapse.
1.Exhale on exertion: When you do a movement that requires muscle exertion, ie. going from sitting to standing, picking something up, bending over, getting out of bed, etc, make sure to EXHALE as you do the movement. Clinically speaking most people tend to hold their breath when they do these actions which actually puts more pressure on the pelvic organs and pelvic floor muscles. This is something I like to say is “easy to do, hard to remember!” Start practicing this now, it’ll get easier with time!
2. Yoga Poses: These are my three favorite yoga poses to show patients and they all are effective in decreasing pelvic pressure. These are especially helpful after a long day of being on your feet or if you are starting to feel that vaginal pressure/heaviness. They are all great but I recommend my patients choose the one that they feel is most helpful or if one is more practical for their lifestyle than the others. Try to hold for 3-5 minutes at least 1-2x per day.
3. Glute/Hip strengthening: Obviously there are endless amounts of exercises I could recommend for glute or hip strengthening, but the idea here is that having hip strength and stability will help to support the pelvic floor muscles. The exercise that is recommended will depend on your starting strength, any other musculoskeletal impairments, and severity of your prolapse. A bridge is a great place to start!