Physical therapy for bladder prolapse: Pelvic PT can help
Bladder prolapse is a condition that affects the pelvic area. It is treated in a type of therapy called pelvic floor physical therapy.
While bladder prolapse can feel like a super devastating diagnosis, pelvic floor PT can help your bladder prolapse stabilize and even get better (yes! this is possible!)
If you've been given a bladder prolapse diagnosis and have resorted to Googling all about the side effects and symptoms that can come along with prolapse, know that the internet can be a super scary place full of misinformation and oftentimes lacks the complete picture as well as actual solutions for your prolapse.
You don't just have to live with this and have it get worse over time and surgery is NOT the only option to fix your bladder prolapse. This is where pelvic floor PT comes in. Let's chat more about that.
What is a prolapse?
A prolapse is simply when one of the organs that are situated within the pelvis (which would be the bladder, the uterus, and the rectum in a female body) begin to lower further down in the pelvis from where they originally were.
In this specific blog post, we're talking about a bladder prolapse.
As you can imagine, this can cause symptoms such as an uncomfortable pressure or bulging sensation in the pelvis as well as bowel or bladder changes.
Prolapses come in many variations, both in terms of which organ is affected and also in how much the organ has dropped. The picture below shows some illustrations of the different types of prolapse.
What symptoms are associated with a bladder prolapse?
When you have a bladder prolapse, you will oftentimes feel pressure, bulging, the urge to urinate, and sometimes you may have pain.
You may have some urinary incontinence, pain or pressure with bowel movements, or increased symptoms when you increase your abdominal pressure during activities like lifting, running, core exercises, etc.
These symptoms usually get worse after standing or sitting for a long time. This happens because the weight of the organs presses on the weak area. This pressure causes more symptoms after being under strain for so long.
Learn more about what a prolapse feels like inside (something you can likely feel right now if this diagnosis is familiar to you!)
What are the common causes of a bladder prolapse?
A prolapse can develop for many reasons. Some common causes of a prolapse include:
Chronic constipation
Chronic coughing
Childbirth, especially with a longer second stage of labor
Repetitive heavy lifting, especially for those who have done so occupationally
If you look at the list above, you may notice a common theme: most of these reasons have to do with prolonged straining.
Prolonged straining puts a lot of pressure on the pelvic floor and over time, that pressure can cause prolapse.
Now, here in lies the problem (and where pelvic floor physical therapy comes in): if you are given a diagnosis of bladder prolapse, but not given a referral to pelvic PT or know that pelvic PT can help you, you run the risk of that prolonged pressure, straining, and weak core/pelvic muscles continuing to become weaker, or, at best, they stay the same.
This can lead to you experiencing prolapse symptoms for life and the potential for said symptoms to get worse.
That's not something you need to just accept and this is not something that needs surgical intervention to treat. This is why pelvic PT exists.
Grades and stages of bladder prolapse
When discussing bladder prolapse, there are multiple grades.
These grades, or stages, of prolapse are named based on severity of the "bulge" into the vagina.
Based on what we call the POP-Q system, there are 4 stages of prolapse.
Stage 0 indicates that there is no prolapse, or bulging of the tissue, up to stage 4, which indicates that the tissue that is affected is as extended into the vagina as much as it could be.
It's important to be fully assessed by a pelvic floor PT after you receive the initial diagnosis from a provider because, as you'll read below, the pelvic floor physical therapy evaluation is extensive and will help determine exactly what grade prolapse you have, what body positions your prolapse is more evident in, as well as what areas are contributing to the prolapse.
How can pelvic floor physical therapy help a bladder prolapse?
Pelvic floor PT, or pelvic health physical therapy, is a focused type of therapy that I practice within.
As a physical therapist, I have taken extra education outside of the typical physical therapy curriculum to develop my skills as a pelvic health physical therapist where I focus on the pelvic floor muscles (of course!) but also on the whole body and it's contribution to the pelvic floor muscles and vice versa.
Pelvic organ prolapse includes many diagnoses that I enjoy treating. Bladder prolapse is one type of pelvic floor disorder.
As a pelvic floor physical therapist, I am able to conduct an entire physical examination that will determine where exactly we can improve strength and coordination to help your prolapse and decrease prolapse symptoms.
You can learn more about exactly what to expect during your pelvic floor PT appointment here.
From there, I'm able to put together a customized plan that will help you have improved pelvic health, decreased prolapse symptoms, and potentially a lesser prolapse diagnosis (grade 2 can become a grade 1).
In this session, we will focus on pelvic floor strength and core strength. We will also work on coordinating the pelvic floor muscles. Additionally, we will connect these muscles to real-life activities. This includes fitness, exercise, and tasks around your house.
Pelvic floor PT for bladder prolapse is much more than just kegel exercises and treatment options will vary from manual therapy to targeted exercise.
By strengthening the pelvic muscles and core areas linked to bladder prolapse, we can reduce symptoms. This also lowers the chance that your prolapse will worsen over time and increases the chances that it will improve!
Physical therapy for bladder prolapse in Durham, NC
If you’re local to Durham, NC or the surrounding areas, I’d highly recommend making an appointment so we can dive deeper into the potential causes (and solutions!) of your specific symptoms and to ensure that we assess your specific pelvic musculature and presence of bladder prolapse.
I’d love to help you live without pelvic pressure, heaviness, or discomfort. I offer the best pelvic floor therapy for those who are seeking relief from pelvic symptoms in Durham and am currently accepting new patients.
You can reach out by completing a contact form here, scheduling a complimentary discovery call here, or by clicking the button below.
