Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POP)- 01

1- What Is Pelvic Organ Prolapse?

2- Pelvic Organ Prolapse Symptoms
3- How Do I Know If I Have Pelvic Organ Prolapse?

4- Types of Pelvic Organ Prolapse
5- How Is Pelvic Organ Prolapse Treated?
6- Treating Pelvic Organ Prolapse at Home

7- Physical Therapy for Pelvic Organ Prolapse
8- Kegel Exercises (Pelvic Floor Exercises)

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1- What Is Pelvic Organ Prolapse?

What Is Pelvic Organ Prolapse?

Your pelvis is the lower part of your belly, below your navel and between your hips. There are a lot of organs in this tight space -- your bladder, cervix, intestines, rectum, urethra, uterus, and vagina.

Sometimes, the muscles and other kinds of tissue that hold everything in place get stretched out, weak, or torn. When that happens, some of your body parts can drop down below where they’re supposed to be. Some of your body tissue can stick out of your vagina. This is called prolapse. It can affect all the organs in your pelvis.

Nearly half of all women between ages 50 and 79 have at least a little bit of pelvic organ prolapse (POP). It doesn’t always cause symptoms, so you could actually have it and not know it. Men can get POP, too, if their bladders or rectums drop down.

What Causes Pelvic Organ Prolapse?

If you delivered a baby through your vagina (not by C-section), you have the biggest risk for POP. The more times you give birth, the higher your risk. But just because you’ve had babies, doesn’t mean you’re going to have a prolapse.

Other things can raise your risk, like:

• Having surgery or radiation on your pelvic area
• Breaking your back or the bones in your pelvis
• Chronic constipation, because of the pushing and straining
• Chronic cough (it puts pressure on your pelvic organs)
• Obesity
• Doing a lot of heavy lifting over and over
• Getting older
• Having family members who have it
• Being white
• Having a hysterectomy
• Giving birth for the first time at a young age
• Smoking

Are There Any Complications?

Pelvic organ prolapse is rarely life threatening. But it can cause a few problems, such as:

• Bladder control problems (urinary incontinence)
• A kink in the urethra, the tube that carries your urine outside your body. This can make it hard to pee.
• Bowel control problems (fecal incontinence), with liquid or solid stools coming out
• Problems having bowel movements when stools get trapped
• Pain during sex
• Urinary tract infections
• Kidney damage if it blocks your pee

Can I Prevent Pelvic Organ Prolapse?

There are things you can to do tighten your pelvic muscles and reduce your risk. For instance, Kegel exercises can help strengthen the nerves and muscles in your pelvis. Making certain lifestyle changes might help, too.

If you’re overweight, for example, try to shed some pounds. Overweight women are more likely to get POP than those who maintain a healthy weight. Drink lots of fluids and eat high-fiber foods. This will help you to avoid constipation. Remember, constantly pushing and straining will only make the prolapse worse.

Try not to lift anything heavy. If you must, learn to lift the right way --with your legs, not your back or abs.

If you smoke, stop. Smoking increases your risk of POP. And see a doctor about any health issues you might have, like a cough that won’t go away. Coughing puts pressure on your pelvic muscles and can make your prolapse worse.

2- Pelvic Organ Prolapse Symptoms

What Are the Symptoms of Pelvic Organ Prolapse?

Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) doesn’t always have symptoms. When it does, they depend on what kind of prolapse you have. In most cases, symptoms are mild in the morning, but get worse as the day goes on. They might include:

Fullness

Your organs could be pushing on your vagina or pressing down on themselves. You might feel:

• Pressure
• Heaviness
• Like you can’t empty your bladder or bowel all the way
• Discomfort in your lower back
• Like you’re sitting on a ball
• Like something is bulging out of your vagina or a tampon is pushing out

Bladder Symptoms

Pelvic organ prolapse can cause some problems with your bladder and your ability to pee. You might have:

• Leaking
• A hard time getting pee to come out
• A weak stream
• Spraying pee
• The need to lift the bulges from your vagina out of the way to pee
• An urge to pee so often it gets in the way of your daily life
• Urinary tract infections that keep coming back
• A sudden, strong urge to pee

Bowel Symptoms

Pelvic organ prolapse can give you trouble with your bowels. Some symptoms include:

• Having to push or strain to empty your bowel
• Having to use your fingers in or around your vagina or rectum to empty your bowel
• Pain during bowel movements
• Losing bowel control
• Constipation
• Liquid stools
• Feeling like you suddenly have to empty your bowels
• Gas

Sexual Symptoms

This condition can also affect your sex life. You might have:

• Pain when you have sex
• Low desire for sex if you feel sad or embarrassed about your body
• A feeling of looseness in your vagina
• Dryness in your vagina

Bleeding and Discharge

If your organs or tissues are sticking out of your body, your clothes could irritate them and cause them to bleed. You might also have some discharge or mucus from the tissue that sticks out, and unpredictable or irregular bleeding from your vagina.

3- How Do I Know If I Have Pelvic Organ Prolapse?

How Do I Know If I Have Pelvic Organ Prolapse?

If you think you may have pelvic organ prolapse, talk to your doctor. There are a number of tests she may use to diagnose the condition.

First, she’ll ask you about your medical history and examine your pelvic organs. This will give her an idea of how strong your pelvic floor muscles are. (These are the muscles that hold your pelvic organs in place). It may be all she needs to do to make a diagnosis.

But other tests may be needed. Your doctor may want to find out if more than one organ has moved out of place, how severe the prolapse is, and whether you have other conditions related to it. The tests you get might include:

• Bladder function tests. Pelvic organ prolapse can cause you to leak urine. Doctors call this “incontinence.” If you have it, your doctor may want you to get certain tests that measure how well your bladder and the structures around it work.
• Voiding cystourethrogram. A lab tech will take X-rays of your bladder before and after you pee. The results can show your doctor if there’s something wrong with your bladder or urethra (the tube through which pee leaves your body).
• Ultrasound. This test uses sound waves to create an image of your pelvic organs on a screen. It can help your doctor see if more than one organ has slipped out of place.
• MRI. This scan uses magnetic waves to create a 3-D image of the organs and muscles in your pelvis. It can help your doctor confirm that you have pelvic organ prolapse.