It affects 50% of women; most never heard about this before.
Core Specialist, Cheryl Coppa, covers one of the most unspoken conditions for women - vaginal prolapse.
By Cheryl Coppa
Saying I was shocked is an understatement.I did not know this until I specialized in training. Even more shocking, is that what we do in our daily life, can contribute to or prevent this. If this is so common that it happens to nearly half of the women, we should be well aware of what this is and what to do about it.
What is Prolapse?
A prolapse is “a displacement of a part or organ of the body from its normal position, usually downward or outward, often resulting in it protruding from an orifice."
To put it quite bluntly so there is no mistake - your organs fall into and even out of the vagina. Shocking! I know. So crazy this is happening to so many of us and is happening younger and younger.
There are a few types of prolapses that can happen:
👉🏽 Cystocele - The bladder drops into the vagina.
👉🏽 Rectocele ~ The rectum bulges into the vagina.
👉🏽 Uterine ~ The Uterus drops into the vagina
Your pelvic floor is used in EVERY single movement you make. Truth is, we don’t become aware of this until there is a problem. It happens to us, or we know someone it is happening to, or you received specialized training in the subject. This is the gap in women’s health and fitness.
What are the Symptoms of Prolapse (Early Warning Signs)?
⚠️ Leakage of urine.
⚠️ Inability to empty your bladder.
⚠️ Lower back pain
⚠️ Constipation.
⚠️ Painful intercourse.
Those early symptoms left unaddressed can turn into even more life-altering symptoms such as:
👉🏽 A feeling of heaviness around your lower tummy and genitals.
👉🏽 Feeling like something is coming down into the vagina, or even feeling like you are sitting on a small ball.
👉🏽 Feeling or seeing a lump coming out of your vagina.
Sounds terrifying, doesn’t it? You can imagine how this affects your everyday life. Some women have to stop what they are doing and lay down because their organ/organs are literally falling. Symptoms typically worsen as the day goes on.
What Causes Prolapse?
Ultimately it is caused by weakened pelvic floor muscles. Where the muscles can no longer hold the organs in place so they start to descend. Factors that increase your risk of prolapse include childbirth, age, obesity, chronic constipation (bearing down too hard for too long), and having a hysterectomy. Even men get prolapse and athletes! Caused by excessive lifting and not properly managing abdominal pressure. Poor posture and alignment in training and everyday life are also contributors.
How is a Prolapse Treated in the Medical Field?
Your doctor will most likely suggest you wear a pessary to help hold the organs up, avoid heavy lifting, and do your Kegels to strengthen your pelvic floor. Or surgery, If you have uterine surgery, they will just completely remove your uterus.
For bladder surgery, it will be stitched up higher, and your doctor might even use a special type of tissue graft to reinforce vaginal tissues and increase support if your vaginal tissues seem very thin.
What you NEED to Know!
Surgery should always be your last resort. If it needs to be done then it needs to be done. But also know, WHY you have this issue in the first place still needs to be addressed so it doesn't happen again. 56% of women who have surgery for prolapse have another prolapse. Yes, you need to strengthen the pelvic floor. Kegels might not be the best place to start. You will ultimately want a pelvic floor trainer, or a program and guide to learn the basics of Pelvic Health and how to strengthen and correct what’s happening.
This way your Pelvic floor can safely and effectively be rehabbed and strengthened. You most definitely have a weak pelvic floor if experience any of these symptoms, but you also might have a tight pelvic floor. So we want to be careful and make sure we are not contributing to the problem by adding excessive contractions when the muscle probably needs to be rehabbed first (through breathing techniques and releasing) before we can begin the training process. Same as you would any other muscle! This is EXACTLY what our Core and Pelvic Floor Program is. It is a training program for your pelvic floor to PREVENT, MANAGE and REVERSE these problems.
"56% of women who have surgery for prolapse will end up having another prolapse. Yes, you need to strengthen the pelvic floor in order to avoid, manage, and reverse it!." Core Specialist, Cheryl Coppa
So here we have this muscle, our pelvic floor, used in EVERY SINGLE movement in our day and all this time we had no idea of how crucial it is. We have left this muscle untrained that has become so weak and wrecked that it can’t do its basic function of holding our pelvic organs in place. A healthy and strong pelvic floor will automatically respond to all the quick movements in our day and the more fierce movements/actions in our days that create more pressure than usual such as coughing, lifting our children, lifting around the house and the yard, and heavy lifting in your exercise routine. If you are doing all this with no knowledge/training of your pelvic floor and bearing down, you are speeding up the process of the descent of our organs. This is 100% not just for childbearing women. ALL women have a pelvic floor and these organs. You can be equipped and learn the basics as well as advanced techniques to keep your pelvic floor healthy and strong for the long haul! Do not wait. Now that you know what this is, you can NOW DO something to avoid it, manage it, and reverse it! OUR SOLUTION After soaking up all the training and continued training (Always have to stay on top of new info and studies), I have altered so much of my own life and the way I train. I ALWAYS have the pelvic floor in mind. Whether you are into fitness or not, YOU NEED THIS! My fellow fitness goers, to continue doing what you love, make sure your pelvic floor is with you, and at least learn the basics which we present in PHASE 1 and 2 in our program. After you learn the basics we introduce to you even more advanced whole-body techniques that are especially beneficial in the prevention and reverse prolapse. How about a technique that actually draws your organs back up? YES! Draw the organs up, while you work on strengthening the pelvic floor so that eventually your pelvic floor strength will be restored. Let’s remember we are working with muscle here, we can rehab and we can strengthen and we need to keep up with this strengthening. This is also why our solution has been so successful, we have continued support, and there is no end. Once we know better we can do better, the time is NOW! Yours, Cheryl
🌐 FREE ONLINE ASSESSMENTS! In honor of Women's History Month, Core Specialist, Cheryl Coppa is providing free assessments to prospective Pelvic Floor Program participants.
Contact Cheryl to schedule yours cheryl@olakaola.com. This will change your life forever.
About Cheryl Coppa
✔️ A certified Core Confidence Specialist (Core and Pelvic Floor retraining)
✔️ A certified Personal Trainer specializing in women's fitness over 40
✔️ Low-Pressure Fitness / Hypopressive certified by creator Dr. Tamara Rial
✔️ Pre/postnatal corrective exercise specialist
✔️Instructor of the Pelvic Floor Health program, Ola Ka Ola
✔️ 40 years young, wife & mother of 3
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