Pelvic Organ Prolapse - What is it? Is it dangerous? How do you treat it?
What is Pelvic Organ Prolapse?
Your bladder, uterus, and rectum are all neighbors. They live on Vagina street. It’s actually more of a cul de sac, with bladder and rectum on either side, and uterus at the top.
During pregnancy, uterus starts to get bigger. Like, a LOT bigger. And pushes the houses of bladder and rectum out of the way, away from Vagina street.
After delivery, uterus shrinks back to its normal size, and bladder and rectum start moving closer to the street, where they used to be.
But when uterus pushed everything out of the way, fences were brought down and sidewalks were torn up, so no one really knows where the property lines are anymore.
And sometimes that means that bladder, rectum, (And even sometimes uterus!) end up IN vagina street instead of just next to it.
Symptoms of Prolapse
You may feel like you are wearing a crooked tampon, like your organs are falling out, constipation, painful sex, or leaking
Is Prolapse Dangerous?
It’s natural to be worried about the safety of your organs and what this means for your sex life and your athletic endeavors.
Here’s the good news: you can have a high grade prolapse, and still have little to no symptoms. If you do have symptoms, the good news is that the prolapse itself isn’t dangerous. It doesn’t put your organs at increased risk.
Sex with Pelvic Organ Prolapse
Sex is 𝐧𝐨𝐭 going to make your prolapse worse.
If your partner is using their hand, they may notice a change in the organization of your pelvis, but penises don’t have that same acuity, so it will feel about the same for your partner(s) in that regard.
If you have a uterine prolapse, it means that your cervix is sitting much lower than usual, and that may be a time that your partner feels a difference, because your vaginal canal will feel shorter.
How to Treat Pelvic Organ Prolapse
Most people who have pelvic organ prolapse want to do anything they can to keep it from getting worse.
Breathing strategies to make sure that you are not increasing your intraabdominal pressure more than your body can handle is helpful - and very individual. There are no blanket rules for everyone experiencing POP. I typically recommend that when people are picking something up, or performing a movement that is very challenging that they audibly exhale through that part of the movement in order to use all parts of their core system together.
If you have a prolapse and sex is painful, don’t push through the pain. Nothing teaches you something faster than pain does, and unfortunately, if you have painful sex you’re teaching your system that whatever you are using to have sex (penis, toy, hand) is painful. Make an appointment with a pelvic floor physical therapist that can help you determine the cause of the pain and get you back to having pain-free and worry-free sex.
Pelvic floor PTs can also help you to determine what your body specifically needs or would benefit from to decrease your prolapse symptoms.
Please Email Krystyna@InclusiveCareLLC.com with any questions, or leave them in the comments