Prolapse...Every Woman Needs to Know

About Julie 

• A CHILDS' HEALTH 
• CRAFTER'S JOY 
• HELPING FAMILIES WORK FROM HOME 

Every woman needs to know: The Silent Epidemic

You can go to the following link for updated information:
www.FindOutProlapse.com 

http://homefreefamilies.blogspot.com/2012/03/every-woman-needs-to-know-silent.html




I have found through my own health experience, the silent epidemic. All women need to know about this. Many women suffer needlessly from Pelvic Organ Prolapse due to the fact that they are simply too embarrassed to discuss their symptoms with doctors and other health care providers.

Pelvic Organ Prolapse facts:

Millions of women worldwide suffer with POP. 300,000 sugeries are performed annually in the US alone, yet most women have never heard of it until they are diagnosed.

* Half of all women over 50 have at least 1 of the 5 types of POP but the condition can affect any woman of childbearing age.

* Vaginal childbirth is the leading cause, followed by menopause and numerous other causes.

* Though the condition has been around for thousands of years, women often suffer in silence with embarrassing symptoms as they are not aware the condition exists.

* It impacts women physically, emotionally, sexually, socially, and financially.

Our lifestyle -- the high heeled shoes, all effect our bodies. Our posture, slouching, tucking under our buns cause our uterus, bladder and bowel to fall back and down into the vagina. Even those women who are avid runners have a higher propensity toward uterine prolapse. (Bet you didn't know that! I sure didn't) Pelvic organ prolapse is not a gynecologic problem at all. It is a postural problem and can be stabilized and often dramatically improved through lifestyle changes.

I wish I had known that just by strengthening the pelvic floor and adjusting my posture, I could have alleviated this disorder. Why hadn't my doctor told me about it? Why had I not heard about it at all???

Thankfully mine is mild. I want my daughter to know...every girl, every woman to know, so this doesn’t happen to them. If it has already occurred there is a way naturally that may help it.

I found the Hab-It / Pelvic Floor Exercise DVD. I can say I notice a difference after a week already! I found the DVD at Amazon.

Tasha Mulligan, Physical Therapist, explains in detail about this disorder.

Do these exercises as a preventative!



Tasha Mulligan has a website and forums where you can ask questions and read an extensive amount of information on prolapse.

Click here: Tasha Mulligan

There are also some excellent and helpful forums at:

The Whole Woman Village Forum

MORE on the Silent Epidemic....What Exercises NOT to Do!

I found this information on another website. It took some searching so I'm posting it here as well! If you have prolapse this will show you what exercises not to do.

http://www.pelvicexercises.com.au/unsafe-abdominal-exercises/ They really have some great information!

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Exercises to avoid with prolapse and after prolapse surgery

Training your pelvic floor with the wrong kind of abdominal exercises.

This expert physiotherapist article teaches you:

• 12 unsafe abdominal exercises likely to worsen prolapse symptoms and contribute to recurrent prolapse after prolapse surgery.

• How to identify unsafe abdominal exercises if you have pelvic floor dysfunction

• The 3 myths you need to know about abdominal strength exercises.

If you intensely exercise your upper abdominal muscles (i.e. your six pack muscles), you will increase the downward pressure on your pelvic floor.

Recent studies show that when women with pelvic floor dysfunction do sit-up exercises, their pelvic floor is forced downwards. If you repeat this often enough, you will overload your pelvic floor and potentially worsen prolapse symptoms.

Avoid doing the following upper abdominal muscle exercises if you have a pelvic prolapse or when exercising after prolapse surgery to minimise pressure on your pelvic floor:

DO NOT DO THESE EXERCISES IF YOU HAVE PELVIC PROLAPSE.

I did not know these exercises could cause more problems!

1. Abdominal crunch/curl or sit-up exercises (shown right)

2. Incline sit-ups

3. Abdominal curl machine

4. Oblique sit-ups

5. Oblique machine

6. Ball sit-ups

7. Ball-between-leg lifts (shown above)

8. Bicycle legs

9. Double leg raise

10. Hanging knee raise

11. Pilates "Table Top" exercise

12. Intense core exercises such as "Plank" or "Hover"

For much more information on safe abdominal exercise if you have a prolapse or after prolapse surgery refer to Inside Out by Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist Michelle Kenway and Urogynaecologist Dr Judith Goh.

(This looks like an AWESOME book to get!)

Tip for how to identify unsafe abdominal exercises …


Try to avoid any abdominal exercises that involve raising both legs off the ground at once and/or exercises involving raising your head and shoulders off the ground whilst lying down on your back. Both these types of exercises will increase the downward force on your prolapse and your pelvic floor. These exercises require very good pelvic floor strength to counteract the downward pressure associated with them.



3 myths about abdominal core strength exercises

Myth 1. Abdominal exercises will flatten the appearance of my stomach

Unfortunately our society has a culture of abdominal strengthening. Women are often led to believe that the more abdominal muscle exercises they perform, the flatter their stomach will appear! We know that it is not possible to spot reduce fat – to flatten your stomach you probably need to lose fat. It does not matter how many sit-up or abdominal strength exercises you do, they will never flatten your stomach. The way to flatten the appearance of your stomach is to lose body weight by reducing your fat intake and increasing appropriate exercise.

For professional guidelines for how to lose weight with pelvic floor problems refer to Inside Out- the essential women's guide to pelvic support by Michelle Kenway and Dr Judith Goh.

Myth 2. Pilates exercises will strengthen my pelvic floor

In some cases women mistakenly believe that doing abdominal exercises including Pilates exercises will actually strengthen their pelvic floor. Abdominal strength exercises or intense core exercises will not strengthen your pelvic floor if you have a prolapse or pelvic floor dysfunction. In fact the more intense abdominal exercises women perform, the more downward pressure they place on their pelvic floor. If your pelvic floor is not working as it should, it will not be able to withstand the downward pressure of abdominal exercises and your pelvic floor (and your prolapse) will be forced downwards as shown here in the diagram below. This is potentially a huge problem for women who have had prolapse surgery in the past. If you have a prolapse including bladder prolapse (cyctocele), bowel prolapse (rectocele) or uterine prolapse, the wrong kind of abdominal strength exercise is likely to make your pelvic prolapse worse.

Myth 3. I need to brace my stomach muscles (pull them in strongly) constantly when I exercise and as I walk around

Advice to brace your abdominal muscles strongly is not correct advice. If you constantly pull your stomach muscles in firmly, then you constantly increase the downward pressure on your pelvic floor and your prolapse. Your deep abdominal core muscles are designed to work gently all the time and this is how they should be trained. Instead pull up in the kegel while sitting, standing...anytime you think of it. It automatically engages the abdominals.

I've learned so much about this disorder! It took some searching for sure.

When doing Leslie Sansone's Walking Videos, STEPPING OUT SIDE TO SIDE, I put my feet out like a PLIE', this turns the hip and accentuates pelvic organ support. I don't feel that dropping feeling anymore.

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I found Michelle Kenway's Pelvic Exercises You Tube Channel. There are so many free instructional videos and a link to her website. She is a Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist.

This information can’t be kept in the closet. Women need to know. I’ll shout it from the mountain tops! The good news is that there is help!

Make it a great day!
Please Share!

                                        Please post comments! I'd love to know who I've helped!

Dr Oz drops the ball on Pelvic Prolapse

The following link has all updated information:
http://homefreefamilies.blogspot.com/2012/03/every-woman-needs-to-know-silent.html

http://homefreefamilies.blogspot.com/2012/04/more-on-silent-epidemicwhat-exercises.html