Increase in prolapse symptoms?
Don’t freak out!!!
Read this.
Hey there!
I know ALL TOO WELL how frustrating and fear-inducing an increase in prolapse symptoms can be.
“Did I make it worse?”
“Are my organs going to fall out”
“What was I doing wrong?”
are ALL questions that have crossed my mind MANY times.
What I’ve learned over the years is that:
Increase in symptoms does NOT necessarily mean a worsening of your prolapse.
An increase in symptoms can teach us something about our bodies.
Sometimes it’s nothing and it passes with no good explanation.
my tips for dealing with an increase in prolapse symptoms!
Check your pelvic floor tension.
If you have prolapse, chances are good that you have a history of not recruiting your pelvic floor enough, so I know it’s difficult to imagine, but you actually might be OVER-RECRUITING your PF.
Before you are convinced that your prolapse is getting worse, either see your pelvic floor PT and have her check your pelvic floor muscles, MAYBE do some internal release of those muscles, or if you know how, use your thera wand to do it yourself.
Here’s a video on that.
Pay attention to your bowel movements AND if you’re still menstruating, your menstrual cycle.
Even if you’ve been having regular bowel movements, are you sure that everything is coming out?
There have been times when after I use the Thera-wand for some release or some Moxibustion (that I ordered through my acupuncturist), a lot of waste, that apparently was hanging around for too long comes out and I have felt to much better!
Other times, a build up of gas from controversial foods or too much fiber has made everythgin feel swollen and uncomfortable for both me and my clients .
So there’s that too.
When our period is approaching, peristalsis (contractions that move your food waste through your intestines) can slow down which can result in constipation for some women, not to mention that our hormones during ovulation or right before menstruation can ALSO make us more symptomatic.
Check your digestion and check your calendar to see where you are in your cycle.
It absolutely could be that!
What about your stress/breathing and movement lately?
It is NOT uncommon for many of us Type A personalities (Hi!) to process our stress by clenching our bellies, tucking our tailbones or tightening our pelvic floors.
When is the last time you took some time for you and breathed with your diaphragm?
When I start feeling like this-and it happens often, so I’m better at recognizing it, I do some Original Strength resets, PARTICULARLY rocking and rolling because they are such SOOTHING movements.
I also focus on my breath-more on that here.
I may even do some belly massage.
And what about your alignment and movement?
Check those ribs. Are they down?
Is your pelvic position mostly neutral?
Are you focusing on your inhale/relax your PF and intently as you do your exhale/lift?
If you’re like, “What is she talking about?” or “I need help with this!” grab my freebie on the topic: here.
And then there are always a WHOLE host of other things you can explore with respect to diet, liver health, sleep and more!
If you want to learn about THAT, check out my upcoming Gut Health for Pelvic Health course!!!
The bottom line?
Once you have prolapse, you always have prolapse.
It’s a vulnerability in your body and mine.
Your prolapse may become symptom-free, undetectable and you may never notice it.
Perhaps your symptoms come and go randomly, or it may be that it persists, but you learn lots of ways to manage it.
The reality is that there’s a LOT about the body, hormones, inflammation, muscles, ligaments and the nervous system that we are still learning, so while there may not be a perfectly OBVIOUS cause and effect relationship between your symptoms and something else that is taking place in and around your body right now, we may one day soon discover MORE branches of the body and lifestyle that impact prolapse symptoms.
In the meantime, if you experience and increase in symptoms, try my recommendations above, do the things that typically make you feel best and give is a little bit of time.
These things happen sometimes.
Managing prolapse is LARGELY a mental process, but I’m here to HELP you!!
Amiright??!!
Before you freak out that this is your new normal, throw in a pessary-if you have one, to give you an extra lift, make an appointment with your PT to get checked and go do something that makes you HAPPY!
Sarah Smith is on a mission to help women conquer their pelvic health struggles and build STRENGTH and SKILLS!
She is a strength coach, RKC2 Kettlebell Instructor, Original Strength Pro Instructor, certified personal trainer, postnatal fitness specialist and pelvic floor and gut health advocate with a Masters in Soil and Agricultural Science.
Sarah works online and in Raleigh, North Carolina.
She is a Believer, wife to her best friend, Jeremiah, a mom to three boys and one English Bulldog.
She loves soil, coffee and not folding laundry.
Come follow her on Instagram or Facebook.