What Do You Need To Know About Pelvic Floor Repair?
Pelvic floor repair is a procedure that is used to help with urinary incontinence, fecal incontinence, and pelvic organ prolapse.
Urinary incontinence:
Urinary incontinence is when urine unintentionally leaks out of the bladder.
Fecal incontinence:
Fecal incontinence is when fecal matter unintentionally leaks from the rectum.
Pelvic organ prolapse:
Pelvic organ prolapse is a condition in which a pelvic organ drops from its normal place and presses against the vaginal walls. This can cause problems with bowel movements, sexual intercourse, and/or urination.
The purpose of the pelvic floor is to keep your pelvic organs in place. When one or more of these muscles are damaged, there is a chance that pelvic organ prolapse can occur.
This can be a result of a number of reasons, including having a vaginal delivery, genetics, obesity, and even menopause.
Many people have no symptoms, but some may experience feeling pressure on the vagina or bladder problems such as urgency to urinate, pain with sex, and/or loss of urine when you cough, sneeze or lift something heavy.
Pelvic Floor Repair
The most common treatments are surgical or non-surgical.
Non-surgical treatment options include biofeedback therapy, weight loss, kegel exercises (pelvic floor muscle training), or vaginal cones (to strengthen the muscles). Surgery may be an option if other treatments do not work.
There are many different types of surgeries, including-
- Colposuspension surgery where the surgeon attaches the vagina to the back wall of the pelvis
- Sling procedures use mesh to lift organs like in a hernia operation.
- Pubovaginal slings (where one suspends from below);
- Sacrospinous ligaments fixation.
- There are also surgeries that aim to restore the normal anatomy after prolapse surgery, which then helps with urinary incontinence.
- Surgery for fecal incontinence is similar to surgery for urinary incontinence.
There are benefits of pelvic floor repair surgery, including improved continence and organ support, but there are also risks like infection, bleeding, and damage to other organs.
In addition, there may be a reaction to anesthesia.
Pelvic Floor Repair through Non-surgical treatment
There are different types of non-surgical treatment to include:
Kegel exercises
Kegel exercises use pelvic floor muscle training -to improve the strength and tone of the pelvic floor muscles.
This can help with urinary incontinence as well as fecal incontinence.
To locate the pelvic floor muscles, try to stop the flow when urinating.
When looking to stop the flow of urine, tighten muscles that you would use if trying to prevent passing gas or control the release of stool.
Hold the tension for three seconds before relaxing the muscle.
If performing this exercise in public, it may be helpful to imagine stopping the flow of urine by imagining inserting a tampon or vaginal applicator.
Repeat this ten times in a row, contracting and releasing the muscles two to three times a day.
It may be helpful to do these exercises while sitting or laying down as it is not necessary that they are done standing up.
See Pelvic Floor Strong Program For Woman
Biofeedback
Biofeedback therapy involves the use of equipment to identify pelvic floor abnormalities.
In women, this can help with urinary incontinence as well as fecal incontinence.
How Biofeedback works:
A small probe is inserted into the vagina or rectum, and a computer monitors movement during Kegel exercises.
During Kegel exercises, the probe sends signals to the computer that the patient can see and hear.
The patient learns what normal movement is and how much tension they should use when performing these exercises.
When doing biofeedback, it may take time before your provider sees improvement in symptoms.
Vaginal cones
Vaginal cones involve the use of small weights that can be inserted vaginally to help with strengthening pelvic floor muscles.
How they work:
They are generally used during pelvic floor muscle training and biofeedback therapy.
They may be used in conjunction with other treatments such as Kegel exercises or weight loss.
The cones are usually small spheres that are inserted into the vagina, much like a tampon. They are connected to one another through threads, so it won’t be too far down if they do fall out.
They usually come in five different sets of 5, with identical shape and volume but increasing weights.
When To Use Vaginal cones
These should be used while lying down, keeping the pelvis still and relaxed. If a cone does fall out during this time, try not to reach for it as this may affect the pelvic floor muscles.
They can be worn all day if they are comfortable, but at least 30 minutes must be spent training with them.
Weight loss (if overweight)
This may be helpful to treat fecal incontinence as a decrease in body weight can help with constipation.
To lose weight, try increasing physical activity and watching what you eat.
Proper hydration, limiting alcohol intake, and avoiding sugary soft drinks are also helpful.
Conclusion
Pelvic Floor Dysfunction can affect the quality of life of many individuals, but it is possible to live with these conditions. With the right treatment plan, you can find relief from fecal and urinary incontinence.
If you feel like the symptoms of incontinence might be affecting your life, talk to your doctor and get a diagnosis. Once you have a diagnosis, work with your doctor to develop the best treatment plan for you.
It is important to note that if surgery is the recommended treatment, physicians will go over all of the benefits and risks of pelvic floor repair surgery before providing consent.
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