Exercise & Prolapse

Here are 6 tips on how to continue to stay physically active with a prolapse!

1) See a Pelvic Health Physiotherapist and work with an exercise professional trained to work with women with pelvic health issues (like me). There’s a lot more to it than just doing kegels! We help you understand when to cue and relax your pelvic floor with certain movements and activities to enable you to exercise effectively without feeling symptomatic or making your situation worse.

2) Breathe!! Your diaphragm, abdominal wall and pelvic floor work together as a team and form our ‘core cylinder’. Breathing incorrectly can worsen feelings of vaginal pressure and heaviness.

3) Manage intra-abdominal pressure. This may start in lying or side lying before you can progress onto all fours, kneeling and then hopefully standing. You might also want to consider how exercising at different times of the day may impact your symptoms. When you have learnt how to manage this pressure and your Pelvic floor is nice and strong, add load...

4) Learn how to reset your pelvic floor and learn what your body needs. If you notice heaviness or dragging after a certain exercise or prolonged period on your feet. Lie on your back with a small cushion underneath your pelvis and your legs up against a wall or back of a sofa - this might give you some relief.

5) Gradually build up to impact. Working within your ‘asymptomatic zone’ for your pelvic floor might initially look like elevated mountain climbers before progressing to single leg hops, jumps and then eventually running.

6) Consider a pessary. Pessaries are a great way of increasing vaginal support to enable you to perform at a higher intensity without becoming symptomatic.

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