Postpartum prolapse question

Hello there. I have heard and read accounts of instant uterine prolapse following birth. The uterus can be pushed back in and up and then stay there with no additional problems. I guess this is what an immediate postpartum prolapse is.
Then of course there is the postpartum prolapse that is discovered later- 2 weeks, 6 weeks, up to 3 years post-birth and it is described as postpartum prolapse (in other words the prolapse was "caused" by either the pregnancy or the birth.
The consensus seems to be that prolapse that occurs soon after birth will improve over time with no additional change in lifestyle with the normal postpartum healing that happens in the first few years after giving birth.
I recently read of a difference between a rectocele and a pseudo- rectocele. The latter being caused by an absence of an intact perineum. In the pseudo form the bulge is present but the normal anatomical form of the descending colon is retained.
I think recovery pretty much depends on the fascial damage level-just thinned out or an actual hole- pulling the body into natural form and supporting tissue healing through diet and lifestyle.

Alemama,
What do mean by recovery depends on the fascial damage level, just thinned out or an actual hole? Can there be NO recovery if there is a hole in fascial tissue? How do you know which situation you have? Can thinned out fascia return to a near normal position by WW posture? What, if anything but surgery would heal fascia with a hole in it? I am sorry for so many questions, but your statement got me to thinking about the damaged fascia and how it heals. Thanks, Connie

Hi Connie

I look at fascia as a 3D garment in a slightly stretchy fabric that fits around all our organs, inside our body. If you put on a well-tailored jacket and your posture is slumped over, or you don't pull it up onto your shoulders properly, any damaged seams will either gape open or overlap. If you stand properly nobody would know the seam was damaged, because the jacket would hang perfectly and the damaged seam would just hang straight, whether or not you button up the front. Put some intraabdominal pressure in there, and it will not hang straight. Bits will poke out of the damaged section, possibly worsening the damage.

That's how I think of the effect of WW posture on fascia. The model is not perfect, but you get what I mean about optimising the relationship of one part of the body with the other parts? Our POPs will never be perfect either, but they can be good enough to be workable most of the time.

Can fascia holes heal up? Who knows? Maybe, maybe not. Ligaments are made of the same stuff. A torn ligament may heal, but it requires some TLC, strapping for a time and controlled appropriate exercises afterwards, and may not be perfect in the end. A ruptured ligament won't heal. A strained ligament may heal.

Louise

I believe that 'they' don't know what is possible. much IS known about the body's ability to heal, but in my years working as a physical therapist, I've seen so much healing take place that never 'should have' been possible. the human body will never fail to amaze me.
and suppose its true that stetched out fascia cannot shrink. I still believe it possible that the fascia can redistribute. so maybe once I'm standing up tall, I'm taking up the slack at my shoulders, for example, and this effectively tightens things up in the pelvis. I have no idea if this is indeed what goes on, but it doesn't hurt to believe. and since I've seen stabilization and small reversal in my prolapse, I choose to believe : )

Hi Liv

I would like to think it can always heal, and technically I guess it can. However, we are an active, wilful species, not easily beaten by frustration, and not likely to look after our healing bodies when there are more 'rewarding' things to do, like everyday life with its other competing priorities.

The body does heal, but not perfectly. I think pregnancy is one of those conditions that challenges or endopelvic fascia greatly, and as it has been said before, our internal structures are *always* a bit looser, even in the long run, after a pregnancy has been experienced. Everyday life simply is wear and tear, not only in the pelvic area. All species, plant and vegetable, experience this.

The best we can do is the best we can do, short of living our whole lives with endopelvic healing as the number one priority.

I suspect that endopelvic fascia which has been cut will not rejoin, except in the spot where where a suture is placed. This may leave gaps between the sutures, which will turn into a perforated strip after a while. Perforated strips are used for making easy places to tear in paper, so ...
Tears will heal some, and loosening will tighten, but not to the degree of perfection.
That's my observation, not factual research.

This is born out by ligament injuries I have been familiar with; my own ankles (which are loose but intact) after a lifetime of rollovers, my daughter's knee which has just had an ACL reconstruction after literally snapping in a straight line across it (which would not heal), and her boyfriend's knee which had a similar injury, along with a torn PCL, which has not healed, despite the reconstruction and long recuperation after his ACL reconstruction.

Cheers

Louise