Get Quick and Non-Invasive Relief from Uterovaginal Prolapse with Effective Solutions

What is Uterovaginal Prolapse?

Uterovaginal prolapse is a common condition among females of elderly age or after childbirth. It is a condition in which uterine muscles may become weak and protrude into the uterus. Dropping the uterus from its original place is known as pelvic organ prolapse.

Muscles in the pelvic floor support the uterus, vagina, rectum, and bladder. Any damage or weakness in the pelvic floor may lead to the dropping of the uterus into the vagina or rectum.

What are the Categories of Prolapse?

• Cystocele: protruding or bulging of the bladder into the vagina
• Enterocele: part of the small intestine drops into the vagina
• Rectocele: it is known as the dropping of the rectum into the vagina.

These are the basic types of prolapse. Different prolapses depend on the part of the body that prolapses.

What are the Causes of pelvic floor organ prolapse?

• Multiple pregnancies or multiple births, i.e., twins or triplets,
• Labor 
• Vaginal childbirth (especially for large babies)
• Constipation
• Carcinoma of the pelvic organ
• Menopause (the hormone estrogen is reduced, which usually supports urethra and bladder muscle function)
• Chronic coughs, such as asthma and bronchitis
• Obesity
• fibroids

As age increases, pelvic floor disorders are somewhat more common; they affect one’s quality of life and become uncomfortable. As the severity of the condition advances, it causes difficulty passing urine or stool.

What are the Symptoms of uterovaginal Prolapse

• Heaviness, fullness, and pressure in the pelvic area
• The feeling of bulbing something out of the vagina.
• Dyspareunia (discomfort and pain during sex)
• Constipation
• Urinary incontinence (sudden leakage of urine)
• Standing, walking, sneezing, or coughing may exacerbate symptoms.

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How to Diagnose Uterovaginal Prolapse?

Diagnosis occurs mainly during the pelvic examination and history-taking. Bulging of a vagina from its position during a cough may be observed.

What are the treatment options available for urinary incontinence?

Treatment includes surgical and nonsurgical intervention, depending on the patient’s condition, severity, and pregnancy plans.

Nonsurgical treatment

• By the age of 80, one in ten women will have undergone surgery to treat a prolapse. Thus, studies suggest that pelvic organ prolapses are highly prevalent.
• In some cases, one may undergo a standard checkup, like a smear test, and show no symptoms or pelvic pain but may still be diagnosed. Alternatively, one may be unaware of the symptoms you were experiencing due to a prolapse, such as having trouble emptying your bladder or intestines or experiencing a dragging sensation in your vagina.
• Once your general practitioner has diagnosed your prolapse, you should know its grade and stage. Research suggests that only women with the most advanced stages of prolapse should have surgery.
• Women who wish to support severe prolapses while strengthening their pelvic floor with pelvic floor/Kegel exercises are increasingly choosing vaginal pessaries as their preferred alternative. 
• A medical practitioner can also permanently fit and adjust a prolapse pessary, usually every six months.

A beneficial addition to the uterine prolapse treatment regimen is physiotherapy. Research suggests improvement in grade 1 and grade 2 prolapse, whereas very little research supports grade 3 and 4 prolapse. It can help control symptoms, strengthen the muscles in the pelvic floor, and enhance the quality of life for those with uterine prolapse. Your physical therapist will assess the strength and tone of your pelvic floor muscles. The assessment plan may include vaginal and rectal examination and treatment methods, including biofeedback, bowel and bladder control, visceral manipulation, trigger point release, soft tissue release, muscle reeducation, and pelvic floor muscle strengthening exercise.

A physiotherapist may employ the following methods and therapies to treat uterine prolapse:

Kegel exercises

These exercises target and strengthen the muscles that support the uterus and other pelvic organs. A physiotherapist can design a customized exercise program to target particular muscle groups and advice on performing Kegel exercises correctly.

Biofeedback

Biofeedback techniques use sensors to provide real-time information about pelvic muscle activity. This feedback can help individuals learn how to contract and relax the pelvic floor muscles effectively.

Electrical Stimulation

Some physiotherapists use electrical stimulation to help stimulate and strengthen pelvic floor muscles. It can be beneficial for individuals who have difficulty contracting these muscles voluntarily.

Manual Therapy

Physiotherapists may use manual techniques to address muscle tension and tightness in the pelvic region. These techniques can help improve circulation and relieve discomfort associated with uterine prolapse.

What is vaginal pessary? How does it help to treat uterovaginal prolapse?

Vaginal pessaries are one example of additional nonsurgical interventions. It’s a device that’s inserted into your vagina to support your pelvic organs and ease your discomfort.

Urine leakage is lessened by the firm ring that presses against the urethral and vaginal walls. The pessary should be tailored to your unique needs and anatomy in terms of both type and size. 

Advantages of using a pessary

Among the benefits of utilizing a pessary are:

• They relieve strain from your pelvic floor as you focus on strengthening it.
• They can provide support, which will prevent the prolapse from getting worse.
• If your pelvic muscles have developed enough or your prolapse has adequately healed, you can remove it anytime.
• You can wear them while pregnant and take them off when you give birth. If surgery is your best option, you can use a pessary to ease your symptoms while you wait. When you see how simple it is to use a pessary, you might even decide not to have the operation done.
• After getting a prosthesis fitted, there is no recovery period; you can resume your normal activities.
• They do not affect your ability to become pregnant.

Among the dangers of utilizing a pessary are:

If the pessary rubs and causes an infection or ulcer, you may be prescribed an estrogen cream to apply to the affected area to promote healing. Alternatively, your gynecologist will remove it immediately.

Bowel and bladder training

Your physical therapist teaches you how to control your bladder and bowel muscles. There are some techniques that you will learn.

• Kegel exercise
• Core stability 
• Bladder diary
• Patient Education
• Breathing /relaxation.

How to overcome the problem

• Avoid constipation and straining while passing stool; use a high-fiber diet and plenty of water.
• Maintain your BMI (body mass index) and reduce your weight if you are obese or overweight according to your BMI.
• Avoid lifting heavy objects, avoid bending too much, try to minimize weight, and lift weights in smaller portions.
• Treat chronic and recurrent coughs.
• Aerobic exercise, i.e., walking, swimming, and cycling, is recommended. It may strengthen joint muscle ligaments as well.
• Avoid the full squatting position; avoid activities like jumping, sitting up, and heavy weights.

What are the proper techniques to lift an object?

• Don’t lift heavy objects alone; do not lift an object above the waist.
• While lifting any object, keep your footing firm.
• Keep your back straight; bend or flex it from your knees while lifting an object from the floor.
• Do not push the object to your back; stand close to an object, keep a firm footing on the floor, and lift the thing using your leg muscles by squeezing your abdominal muscles.
• Avoid twisting; move your feet forward when you lift an object.
• Keep the object close to your body with your arms bent.
• While keeping something on the floor, keep your back straight and tighten your belly muscles while bending your hips and knees.

How can one identify a uterovaginal prolapse?

One can identify prolapse by inserting one or two fingers across the front vaginal wall (facing the bladder) to feel for any bulging under your fingertips.

Is walking beneficial for uterine prolapse?

Low-impact exercise is safe for all prolapsed women, regardless of pelvic floor muscle strength. Walking is one of them.

Should I Get Surgery?

Women who have exhausted nonsurgical options and found that their quality of life has not improved quickly or sufficiently may consider surgery as a last resort. Ten percent of women with prolapses choose surgery. 

The main point to remember is that there is no surgical method that can strengthen the pelvic floor. No surgery can make the pelvic floor muscles stronger again. During surgeries, on the other hand, every organ is sutured back into position to stop it from moving. As a result, even after surgery, you will need to continue receiving nonsurgical treatments to help heal the incision and prevent it from happening again.

When non-invasive therapies and lifestyle changes are no longer sufficient to control uterine prolapse, surgical intervention may be considered. The goals of surgical procedures are to relieve symptoms, enhance the quality of life for those who are affected, and return the uterus to its normal position and function. Here are some factors about uterine prolapse surgery: The degree of the prolapse,

 the patient’s general health,

 and their desire for future fertility all influence the procedure that is selected. Vaginal and abdominal approaches are commonly used in surgical procedures.

Vaginal Approaches:

Due to their reduced invasiveness, vaginal surgeries are frequently chosen. Access and repair the pelvic support structures, incisions through the vaginal wall are made during procedures such as vaginal hysterectomy and uterosacral ligament suspension.

Abdominal Approaches:

When other methods are not appropriate or in cases of extreme severity, abdominal surgeries may be required. These procedures include sacrocolpopexy, in which the uterus is attached to the sacrum with native tissue or mesh for support and abdominal hysterectomy.

Laparoscopic surgeries

Uterovaginal prolapse can be treated with laparoscopic surgery, sometimes referred to as minimally invasive or laparoscopy-assisted surgery. Compared to traditional open surgery, this method has many benefits, including smaller incisions, less pain, shorter hospital stays, and faster recovery.

Many times, the extent of the prolapse, the patient’s age, general health, and desire for future fertility play a role in the surgical decision.

Depending on the type of procedure used, there are differences in recovery following uterine prolapse surgery. Patients are usually instructed to avoid heavy lifting and strenuous activities for a few weeks. Physical therapy and pelvic floor exercises might also be suggested to speed up recovery and stop prolapse in the future.