Salsa and Prolapse - question from a dancer...

Submitted by dino on December 23, 2007 - 4:13pm
Body: 

Hi,
I am very new to the forum, I am really glad to find this site! I will do a proper check up with the doctor tomorrow to find out about my prolapse. I gave vaginal birth to my son 1 month ago, and this evening when I did bowel movement, I realised there was "something" at the opening of my vagina..., since then I have been searching for information on pelvic organs prolapse.

I looked at the "posture" recommendation in the FAQ page on this site, and realise that most of the described posture has common element with what a dancer's posture is required... This is more true when I see the "ballet exercises" listed in the whole woman center. This is very important for me because I am a salsa dancer and has been dancing and practicing for 5 years. Before finding out about this, I had partly blamed the dance for "causing" the prolapse... and was quite heart broken thinking I would not be able to dance again if I want the condition to improve....

I might have been too quick to conclude the above, and this is why I would like your insight into the matter, am I correct to think Christine's posture has common feature with a dancer's? Will dancing effect the condition of prolapse (either positively or negatively)?

Thank you so much,

Dino

ATS

December 23, 2007 - 5:14pm

Dino, I just wanted to say hi and welcome to the forum. I am afraid I do not have any answers to your questions as I am still so new to all this stuff myself.

I am not sure when Christine will be around again as I know she has been so very busy leading up to the holidays. There are lots of ladies here though with a wealth of information and wise words and I am sure they will log in soon.

Take care and have a lovely Christmas.

A

alemama

December 23, 2007 - 6:21pm

hey- I have a baby crawling all over me and the computer right now- so I have to be quick- but I think you are right and that WholeWoman posture has alot in common with salsa dancing posture. If you can afford to buy the book - it is eye opening and a great education. Otherwise have a look around this site- use the search function- There was a recent blog about dancing.
and don't worry- you can still dance-

stella

December 23, 2007 - 7:36pm

congratulations on your new baby Dino!
I am almost as new as you, so I have no answers...but as far as being active goes, I have been testing it out by how my body feels(biking and yoga-yes, trampoline jumping-no!)
Enjoy your sweet babe.
Stella

granolamom

December 23, 2007 - 8:22pm

congrats on the new baby!
I'm definitely NOT a dancer so I don't have an answer to your question.
though I do know that dancing is not 'bad' for prolapse, and from the looks of it salsa dancing does seem to be somewhat consistent with the posture we talk about here. except for the high heels.
but like everything else, try it and you'll see how your body responds. but not yet - you're only 1 mo pp! take it slow and enjoy your sweet new baby.

mumwithone

December 23, 2007 - 11:47pm

Hi Dino,

I've been a dancer off and on since I was four years of age. I did a full-time course and it was around this time that I first developed prolapse, but like you, I don't know if the dancing contributed or not.

What I can say is that recently I went back to dancing, I'm doing some latin and rock n' roll, and I've found if anything it's been good for my prolapse. I feel very comfortable dancing, and it's a great form of exercise with prolapse because it's non impact, and you can hold Christine's posture with it.

See how you go and how your body responds, if you feel worse maybe hold off for a little before going back, but if you feel good in the hours and day afterwards keep going with the dancing. I found it took me a while after having bub to feel comfortable doing much exercise again. I just went with how my body was feeling.

Also, I am now pg with baby two and I've been using the V2 supporter for my dancing. It helps a lot with comfort if you really want to get back into it. I keep up my dancing still because I love it and feel good after it. So if you love your dancing don't let your prolapse make you give it up - just give it time if you need to.

I hope that helps. Any more questions, feel free to ask away.

Good luck!

blythe

December 24, 2007 - 3:04pm

a couple of nights ago for the first time with my partner since knowing I had POP and I had a fantastic night. I love to dance and I was scared of trying it but I kept in the posture and apart from being a bit achy from not dancing for a long while. I feel fine.

Congratulations on the new baby, welcome and like everyone else has said give yourself time to heal as you are only newly postpartum. I am 19 months post partum and feel that my body is still healing an getting stronger. The posture is the key and when you feel stronger try the exercises in the DVD and book. We have a programme here in the UK called Strictly Come Dancing and all the dancers are in the WW posture.

Frankie x

louiseds

December 26, 2007 - 10:43pm

Hi Dino

Welcome, and so glad you have found us. Doing the "I wonder if it was something I did while dancing?" thing certainly feeds the guilt trip but is quite pointless. However it does seem to be a part of every woman's journey through prolapse. It is also a valid part of the grief process for something lost, and we can all relate to that!

I am into rock and roll and latin, with a spot of belly dancing and of course Christine's ballet workout. The ballet workout is great because it continually teaches me to not lock my knees, and to use all those muscles that link up the spine, sacrum, femur and bones of the pelvis. This has been hard for me to learn, and I suffered a great deal of lower and upper back pain until I realised I was using my back muscles, gluteal muscles and hamstrings too much.

Then came Feldenkrais to teach me how to get those other muscles working again.

Now I can use them all together, dancing in posture, any style, is a lot easier. I just have to remember to use my knees more than my spine to get the movement right. The hips follow. The other things I have had to do are to unlearn tucking my butt under and unlearning pulling my stomach in. This is at the heart of WW posture.

Cheers

Louise

Carolyn1

December 28, 2007 - 12:05am

Hi Dino,

Congrats on your new baby! I love salsa and usually salsa dance once/week and have been doing so for about 10 years. I got my prolapse about 5 years ago, 6 months after the birth of my first baby. At first, I had about a "stage 2" where things were bulging out of me and now (and really for the past couple of years) I hardly notice it. All the time I've been dancing salsa weekly, plus I had my second child about 3 years ago. So, anyway, my experience is that dance doesn't hurt my prolapse, and it sure gives me a lot of joy. For me, time was one of the best healers and given you are only one month post partem, I'd give it a little time and let your body naturally do it's stuff.

Carolyn