Pelvic Organ Prolapse

Pelvic organ prolapse is a more common condition than you may think and it is not one that women should ever feel embarrassed about. Up to ⅓ of women who have had children will suffer from pelvic organ prolapse, which is a condition where one of the pelvic organs (the bladder, bowel, rectum or uterus) moves downwards in the vagina causing a feeling of something ‘coming down’ or a heaviness. It is usually to do with the pelvic floor muscles or the supporting structures weakening and allowing the prolapse.

Many women who suffer from this will opt for surgery, but, before even thinking about surgery, we highly recommend you see one of our physios as quite often, treatment and retraining of the pelvic floor can make a huge difference. The national guidance on treating prolapses actually recommends a supervised pelvic floor muscle training programme for at least 16 weeks as the first treatment option (NICE, 2019). An initial assessment would begin with an internal examination to really help get to grips with what’s going on when the prolapse occurs and then, a treatment plan to help activate the pelvic floor muscles where you need them most.