What is the commonest symptom of pelvic organ prolapse?

Many women experience pelvic organ prolapse, but it can be hard to diagnose.

The most common symptom of pelvic organ prolapse is vaginal pressure and a feeling that the vagina has fallen out of place; this happens because the muscles in the pelvis are too weak or relaxed to hold up these organs.

There are many other symptoms as well, from pain during sex to difficulty urinating or having bowel movements.

This blog will discuss some signs and symptoms for diagnosing this condition and offer lifestyle changes you can make if you think you may have it.

What is pelvic organ prolapse?

Pelvic organ prolapse occurs when one or more of the pelvic organs such as the vagina, bladder, urethra, cervix, and rectum drop down from their normal position in the pelvis. These organs can fall due to the weakening of muscles that hold them in place.

Even when all of the pelvic organs have dropped and are visible outside your body, you may not have any symptoms.

Symptoms vary depending on how low the organ drops into the vagina and which muscles were damaged to cause prolapse.

Pelvic Organ Prolapse: A Growing Concern

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that as many as one in three women will develop pelvic organ prolapse over the course of their lifetime.

This is a huge number of women with conditions that can be painful, embarrassing, and difficult to live with. The cause of pelvic organ prolapse is often misunderstood and attributed to aging or weakened muscles from childbirth, even though there are other factors involved.

Other than age, obesity, smoking, and genetics have been identified as risk factors for developing pelvic organ prolapse.

Read What Happens If Your Pelvic Floor Is Weak?

Symptoms of Pelvic Organ Prolapse

The first symptom of pelvic organ prolapse is often a feeling like there is something coming out “down there” or vaginal pressure.

Other symptoms include:

• A heavy, bulging feeling in the vagina

• Feeling as if you’re sitting on a ball

• General discomfort in the pelvic and vaginal area

• The feeling that your vagina has dropped down or is lower than it should be

• Difficulty emptying your bladder

• Urinary incontinence – the loss of bladder control

• Pain during sex, which may end up being painful for both members of a couple because of stress on the tissues

• Difficulty controlling bowel movements

* These symptoms of pelvic organ prolapse do not occur in every case. Some people with serious cases of pelvic organ prolapse may experience no symptoms at all.

For some, the condition can be severe enough to cause bladder infections or urinary tract problems.

Sex and Pelvic Organ Prolapse

The severity of pelvic organ prolapse symptoms varies widely, with some women having more serious cases than others.

In severe cases, a woman’s vagina may fall to the opening of her vagina (known as vaginal apex). The severity of this type of pelvic organ prolapse is often linked to sexual dysfunction and problems during intercourse.

In many cases, sex becomes painful as a result of the pelvic organ prolapse. This is because the supportive muscle tissues and tissue that holds up the organs have been weakened over time, causing pain with deeper penetration and during thrusting of any kind.

For some women, a complete lack of sensation in the vagina due to nerve damage makes sex impossible; this condition is known as vaginal agenesis.

Treatment for Pelvic Organ Prolapse

The best way to prevent or treat pelvic organ prolapse is by strengthening the muscle and tissue in your pelvis with Kegel exercises.

These are easy to do at home:

1. Identify your pelvic floor muscles, which can be felt during urination when they contract.

2. Tighten your pelvic floor muscles for three seconds and then relax them for another three seconds, repeating ten times.

3. Work up to holding the contraction for 3-5 seconds with each repetition, gradually building up the number of repetitions over time.

Pelvic organ prolapse can also be treated through surgery. If your symptoms are severe, you have a high risk of developing complications (such as urinary or fecal incontinence after surgery), or the organs have dropped so far into the vagina that they cannot be pushed back up during pelvic organ prolapse treatment without using electrical stimulation, surgical intervention may be necessary.

In these serious cases, surgery may involve repositioning the organs in a new location or tightening the vaginal walls.

The surgery is performed through an incision inside of your vagina, so it’s minimally invasive and reduces the stress placed on recovering muscles.

This form of surgical treatment for pelvic organ prolapse is sometimes called anterior colporrhaphy. The terms colporrhaphy and anterior repair both refer to the same procedure.

For some women with advanced pelvic organ prolapse, surgery may not be a feasible option.

However, there are other ways to manage your symptoms:

• Kegel exercises can help strengthen the vaginal walls enough that you may be able to postpone or avoid surgery altogether.

• A specially designed vaginal pessary can also be used to support the uterus, bladder, or rectum in place. This device may also reduce symptoms of urinary incontinence and stress incontinence associated with pelvic organ prolapse.

Pelvic Organ Prolapse Treatment: Surgery for Pelvic Organ Prolapse

Surgery is often the best option for women whose pelvic organs have dropped into the vagina and who have tissue damage.

When surgery is necessary, most surgeons use colporrhaphy or anterior repair to treat this condition. In these procedures, a surgeon cuts away damaged tissue surrounding the vaginal opening and pulls up any prolapsed organs back into their proper position.

Many women are concerned that surgery for pelvic organ prolapse may cause sexual dysfunction.

However, the latest studies show no evidence of any sexual impairment following this type of surgery. In most cases, sex is back to normal within six months.

A woman’s reaction to colporrhaphy or anterior repair can vary widely depending on her age and the specific type of pain or symptoms she is experiencing before surgery.

It’s important to remember that complete healing can take anywhere from a few months to several years. Some women experience significant improvement in their symptoms six weeks after surgery, while others don’t notice as much of a change until they’re completely healed and recovered about three months afterward.

Peritoneal organ prolapse can occur at any time during a woman’s life, but it is most common after pregnancy and childbirth when the pelvic floor muscles are weakened or damaged by rapid increases in uterine size or labor contractions.

While this condition is rarely accompanied by pain, it may affect sexual relationships and work performance because of embarrassing symptoms, such as a bulge in the vagina or rectum that may be noticeable when you walk, sit down, exercise, or have sexual intercourse.

Women who are experiencing problems with peritoneal organ prolapse often report feeling like something is bulging out of their vagina.