Pelvic Floor Disorders

When the ligaments, muscles, and tissues that hold your pelvic organs become weak it is called a pelvic floor disorder. Weak support causes one or more of your pelvic organs to drop down into your vagina. The organ may even drop so far that is partially exposed outside the body.

The main types of pelvic support problems include:

• Cystocele - When the bladder drops down into your vagina.
• Enterocele - When your small intestine drops into your vagina.
• Rectocele - When your rectum bulges into the vaginal wall.
• Uterine prolapse - When your uterus drops into your vagina.
• Vaginal prolapse - When the top part of the vagina begins to droop. This sometimes happens after a hysterectomy (removal of the uterus).

Pelvic floor disorders can be caused by many conditions. Your problem may begin after you give birth. During childbirth, the muscles and skin of the birth canal (vagina) are stretched and sometimes torn. They repair over time but are never exactly the same.

Even women who have never had children may develop a pelvic support problem. After menopause, changes in the vaginal walls develop from lack of estrogen. Estrogen helps to keep the tissues toned. Low levels of estrogen weaken the vaginal walls and may cause the bladder to shift from its normal position. Through aging, the loss of muscle tone and the relaxation of muscles may cause the uterus or other organs to drop.

Over time, certain conditions, like chronic coughing, chronic constipation, doing a lot of heavy lifting, straining to pass stool, and obesity, can also weaken the pelvic support muscles.

Some symptoms include:

• urine leakage
• difficulty having bowel movements
• ache in the lower abdomen, groin, or lower back
• bladder infection
• feeling of heaviness, pulling, or fullness in the pelvis, or as though something is falling out of the vagina
• an organ protruding from your vaginal opening
• painful sexual intercourse