Uterine prolapse: symptoms, treatment, prevention

But even more striking is another statistic: about 2% of women live with it for 10 years or more. Until complications require surgical intervention. You can't "get used to it" and put up with discomfort - when the first signs appear, you must immediately contact a specialist and resort to preventive measures while they can help.

Obstetrician-gynecologist "ON CLINIC" Yana Valerievna Datieva

Doctor of the highest category, head of the obstetrics and gynecology department. Specializes in pregnancy management, diagnostics and treatment of gynecological diseases, minor surgery. Professional skills and main areas:

• full hysteroscopy;
• separate diagnostic curettage;
• therapeutic hysteroresectoscopy;
• vaginal plastic surgery and cervical surgery;
• all types of curettage of frozen pregnancy;
• laparoscopy;
• treatment of infertility, habitual miscarriage and congenital thrombophilia;
• management of complicated pregnancies;
• removal of condylomas, treatment of human papillomavirus.

Prolapse of the vaginal walls and uterus: a specialist's view

Prolapse of the uterus - incorrect location cervix and fundus uterus, and more precisely - displacement of the organ down relative to its anatomical-physiological border of-for weakening of the ligaments and muscles of the pelvic floor.

Prolapse of the vaginal walls is another frequently encountered pathology. It occurs in young women, who have gone through traumatic childbirth, especially with a large baby or with using auxiliary tools. Possibly separate prolapse of the anterior or posterior wall.

Prolapse of the vaginal walls is essentially a hernia, that is a disorder muscular-ligamentous apparatus, in «gaps» of which «nearby organs fall through. With deformation of the anterior wall there the bladder descends, of the posterior - rectum and, in severe cases, even thick and thin intestines.

Negative consequences of prolapse of the anterior wall:

• urination disorders;
• urinary incontinence;
• false urges;
• frequent nighttime urination (nocturia);
• feeling of incomplete emptying of the bladder.

Constipation and a feeling of incomplete emptying of the rectum are typical for changes in the posterior wall.

In particularly severe situations, women cannot urinate or perform a normal bowel movement without performing finger support. When the bladder descends into the vagina, a kink in the urethra occurs. If the woman does not return the organ to its place, she will not be able to urinate. Similarly, manipulations may be required to successfully empty the bowels.

There are degrees prolapse of the walls of the vagina and of the uterus in which patient especially nothing not worries, there are no expressed problems, and, in generally-that, this issue can not be dealt with. Or, as option, effectively use gynecological pessary, which will support the uterus. Such device is a ring. Previously they were only to elderly women, as usually, after 70 years in patients there complications from the side heart, kidneys, lungs and other organs, which may become a contraindication for surgical intervention. If it was impossible to operate, then to avoid discomfort such pessaries were used.

Now they are quite often used in young women with initial prolapse or in the postpartum period, which allows to restore the anatomical integrity of the organ. For some time, the uterus is fixed in place, due to which a gradual contraction of the ligamentous apparatus occurs.

Prolapse of the uterus and vaginal walls: main causes

Basically, these are:

• traumatic childbirth (first or repeated), a large number of births;
• heavy physical labor;
• obesity, age, postmenopause;
• surgical interventions on the pelvic organs;
• heredity.

As a rule, prolapse of the uterus is associated with changes in the ligamentous apparatus. Quite often, thin and tall patients with some concomitant ailments (prolapsed kidneys, mitral valve prolapse), as well as those who have grown quickly, come to us - such features can be observed visually. The probability of developing uterine prolapse is higher in them than, say, in women of stocky or normosthenic build.

Classification from professionals

Practicing gynecologists use an unofficial classification, slightly different from the medical one: 1, 2, 3, 4 degrees of prolapse. Initial manifestations do not require active intervention and conditions starting from the 2nd degree, when the organ has already descended into the prolapsed mucosa, are subject to surgical treatment.

The first symptoms that will help you see a doctor in time

Hereditary predisposition can safely be put in first place. If someone in the family - mother, grandmother - had prolapse, then the probability of developing a similar condition in a woman is much higher. This means that, first of all, it is necessary to have regular check-ups with a gynecologist.

If there were tears or an episiotomy during childbirth, such damage should be carefully and accurately sutured - and then no problems will arise. Otherwise, there will be a violation of the anatomy from the entrance to the vagina, so to speak, "on the ground floor", which without correction over time can lead to prolapse.

First, there is muscular insufficiency of the pelvic floor, that is, the muscles in this area do not fully perform their functions. And then any loads, including those associated with upright walking, a common cough, chronic diseases will lead to the fact that due to increased abdominal pressure, prolapse will begin to appear. If the patient has any disorders of the pelvic floor muscles, then it is necessary to analyze the degree of the disease. In case of particularly pronounced anatomical changes, it is recommended to perform plastic surgery - levatoroplasty, which restores the muscular frame.

There is such a concept - "relaxed vagina syndrome". This is not a medical term, but it is widely used.

It is characterized by discomfort during sexual intercourse, when you do not feel your partner, there is a feeling of a more capacious vagina. Some women experience unpleasant incidents, for example, when they sit down: air gets into the vagina - an unpleasant sound is heard. This can be repeated when walking, during sexual intercourse and is an eloquent symptom of negative changes.

An increase in the volume of the vagina can be physiological, but often becomes a bell signaling the prolapse of its walls.

Prevention of uterine prolapse

First of all, this is the normalization of lifestyle, optimization of diet and bowel movements (there should be no constipation). If there are any problems with the intestines, they need to be solved; if there is a predisposition to constipation, this needs to be addressed.

Of course, it is not always possible to prevent traumatic births - this depends on the doctor and the woman in labor. But if a woman has had such births, it is imperative to consult a doctor in a timely manner in order to reduce the consequences in the future. Naturally, moderate physical activity is important - we exclude carrying heavy objects and exhausting physical labor.

A woman should remain a woman, smart, beautiful and gentle, and not lay rails - then the likelihood of prolapse will be much lower.

Even women who have not given birth can also be advised to exercise the muscles of the pelvic floor and vagina, to pump them up. For women with the initial stage and patients during postoperative rehabilitation, various physical activities are recommended as a preventive measure - these activities develop the pelvic muscles well:

• Kegel exercises;
• going to the gym, fitness club, swimming pool;
• yoga, Pilates, callanetics;
• various types of dancing (except belly dancing, because it is characterized by a relaxed abdominal press).

As a rule, prolapse occurs in physically unprepared women. That is, reasonable exercise, the same choreography, fitness, Pilates, swimming, - to a certain extent, a guarantee against such troubles.

To increase the effectiveness of Kegel exercises, quite a lot of different accompanying devices have appeared on the market. Perineometers, myostimulators are medical devices that are used specifically to correct the pelvic floor muscles. If this is combined with normal nutrition and adequate physical activity, then even women who are planning pregnancy and childbirth in the future will be able to avoid prolapses and ruptures.