Christine's exercises

They are in her dvd, first aid for prolapse, and there are also exercises in her book. When I refer to them, i am referring to the ones in the dvd, since those are the ones I do. How's it going?

Marie

usaukaus
I live in Australia and I am feeling very isolated. I have been diagnosed with a rectocele, which possibly occured as a result of heavy lifting combined with a nasty, short lived virus. Has anyone ever been fully cured of a rectocele without surgery? I have read Christine's book and have been using aquaflex vaginal weights for about a week after visiting a physiotherapist, but notice that the manufacturers do not recommend them for someone with a prolapse. Help. I am confused. And, what does living with a rectocele mean? I do not want to live with one, I want it to go away without surgery! What are other people's experiences? Thanks for reading this.

Hi there Usaukaus,

Please don't feel isolated!

It is difficult coming to terms with something like this but you are not alone!! There are several women on this forum from Australia, and many more of us all over the world living with this pretty well considering everything!

I am not sure that prolapse of any kind can be "cured" as such by any means, including surgery. However, one can do many things to improve things. Read lots here and see if you can't feel a bit more supported and less alone!

There is a great deal of conflicting information in relation to prolapse out there, but by reading and deciding for yourself what will work for your situation, you are empowering yourself and taking charge of your health. This is something which has helped me tremendously!

Hugs to you!

Michelle.

usaukaus
Dear Michelle
Thank you so much for your words of encouragement and support. I must admit that I have got tears rolling down my face as I am writing this. There doesn't seem to be a lot of information available to members of the public on rectoceles. I do not know anyone who has ever had a prolapse, so therefore, I can not ask them what they did to make things better. I suppose I am relying on people like you to point me in the right direction. My gut feeling is telling me that surgery is not the way to go. Can anyone tell me if rectoceles can get worse over time without treatment? What is the best case scenario? I had hoped that by strengthening the pelvic floor that somehow the rectocele would shrink and eventually disappear...but it sounds like that this is an unrealistic expectation borne out of ignorance. What has happened to other women with this problem? Thank you so much for reading this E mail and being prepared to share your story with someone like me.

Dear usaukaus,

Most of the women here have different degrees of rectocele. Don’t panic, go organic! (SO SORRY…I must be in a silly mood!)

Work to understand the underlying causes of your condition – I have a lot of info here. Think in terms of rewinding the tape – STOP any straining on the toilet. Stop eating red meat and other foods not well suited for the human bowel (yes, we were short, muscular, short-lived hunters of large game for a long time but nonetheless, our bowel is extremely different than that of a carnivore.) Then start the postural work. Different levels of intensity of this work are really the only significant long-term treatments for these conditions, as the fascial planes of the pelvic interior must be realigned back toward the highly evolved shape that is the foundation of organ support. Get the pressure off your rectocele by utilizing these standing and seated positions. Walking in the posture is very good.

The rectocele may not disappear entirely, but there are women here who have stated over and over that improvement to the point of not being aware of it is not only possible, but the norm once this work is established.

Wishing you well,

Christine

Hi Usaukaus,
Me again, I wanted to add that there are probably many more people than you think wandering around with prolapses of varying degree and not even being aware of it, as well as those who are aware of it and think they are the only ones! It really seems to be a great deal more common than even the health professionals seem to realise. If you start talking to friends I bet at least a few will say "oh yeah, that sounds familiar!" Thinking back I am wondering whether I had a degree of prolapse after the birth of my first child even though it became obvious after the birth of my latest over four months ago. It seems from what I have learnt that prolapse is a very individual thing depending on the underlying personal causes for each woman, structural issues, and any life style activities which may have contributed. (I am sure marathon running helped me along the way!) This can be frustrating because no one can say for sure what will happen for you but I feel sure that if you adopt many of the lifestyle changes described here you will improve significantly. It really is a process of coming to terms with it all emotionally as well and this is definitely the place for support in that area.
Take care.
Michelle. x

Hi Usaukaus

Nahh, you have no need to feel isolated. There are a few other OzWholewomen out there under the Southern Cross. I'm in WA, just east of Perth. Hang around this site and you'll soon feel a part of a group of lovely friends who really understand what you are going through. Feel free to email me. I'm 53 and have a rectocele.

There's bad news and there's good news. The bad news is that rectocele is here to stay, but the good news is that once you get your posture and seating organised, strengthen all those muscles that stabilise your pelvis and get your diet and stress organised so that you don't get constipated, get your clothes organised and get on top of gross coughing and other things that aggravate prolapse by causing a lot of intraabdominal pressure, (that's not too much to ask ???) you will probably not experience the symptoms of rectocele very often at all. If you can't feel it, you don't even know you have it. And if you feel like you don't have it, then ... well, you don't have it.

It may take several months, and you may have to make permanent changes to the way you do things, but if you want to feel good about your body, it's worth it. Just remember that rectocele is an injury, not a deformity or imperfection. You are the same person you were before you were diagnosed.

Actually the things I have had to change to feel normal again (cystocele and uterine prolapse as well) have made my health a lot better generally. Perhaps the prolapses were the wake up call. Anyway, I feel a lot better than I have for years, and I'm sure you will too after a while.

Cheers

Louise

Okay, I'm new here and just got the book. My doctor told me it's only going to get worse and I will have to get surgery to put it back to normal. So far it's not protruding but when it acts up, it take forever to go to the bathroom and doesn't empty completely. Plus I can see the bulge and I feel like it's about to come out.

Some questions on the exercises. The stomach lift - do you straighten up after each rep? And it says 3 times, but do you only do 3 times a day? And the Natural Healing Stand - how often? The book says "move into it whenever you are on your feet." I may not want to do this waiting in line at the grocery store, but I assume I should do it several times a day. How long to hold the muscle contraction?

Also, when I contract these muscles, it seems like it doesn't contract "all the way". I don't know how else to describe it, but I'm thinking maybe it's because some of the muscles are so weak they are all but non-existent. Will they "come back?" The book seems to indicate they will. (hope hope hope hope hope)

Dear Dilapidated,

I think most women who exercise do so once a day. Yes, straighten up after the stomach lift and catch your breath. In the video we do a hands and knees version of this exercise, which is pretty powerful.

The “Healing Stand” in the first edition of the book became the Whole Woman Posture™ Yes, you want to try to pull yourself into this way of standing all the time you are on your feet. By the way, don’t bend your knees as in the book illustration (sorry- I was trying to show “soft” knees), but keep them straight and unlocked. The best illustrations are here on the site in the FAQ section. The sitting positions are very important.

Yes, I believe your whole pelvic organ support system will feel much stronger and put together after several weeks/months of doing this work. Another point – the toilet sitting illustration in the book is also inaccurate. Never push against the seat, but lift up slightly onto your feet.

Jane wrote such a fabulous description recently of the reality of healing from rectocele…something like, “It won’t go away completely, but you will get to the point where you can’t feel it, and if you can’t feel it, you don’t have it!” I love that and think we need to put it up on the FAQs.

Wishing you well,

Christine

Yes, Jane's comment WAS a big encouragement!! I really don't want surgery. Your comments about the medical establishment remind me of "MalePractice" by Dr. Mendelsen (sp). But my doctor is a woman, and a GYN, and she's usually on target on women's heath.

I actually DID do the Natural Healing Stand in the store, like I said I wouldn't!! I didn't bend my knees as much, I could feel it was doing something, and then whad'ya know? I come here and you say do it without as much bend in the knees! Thanks for answering so quick!

Now, about the sitting. This week I started a new job and have eight more weeks of training where I'm sitting almost all day. I can't sit on the floor, can't straddle the chair, but i don't want my innards coming out any further and feel like there must be a better way to sit. I have back issues anyway so I can't stay in one position at any rate. I alternate "normal" seating with sitting on the edge of the chair, slightly tilted forward, feet tucked under the chair a little. Would kegels help in this position?

On a similar note, you mention kegels are sort of useless laying on your back, but one of the exercises I do for physical therapy involves laying on my back with knees up, tilting the pelvis, tightening pelvic floor muscles, and slightly raising my feet from the floor for a few seconds each, alternating for about 30-40 reps. Is this BAD for me, good for me, or neutral? It helps my lower back a lot, and I've been doing this for about 2 years.

Hi Dilapidated,

I’m so glad to hear that you are encouraged and seeing signs the posture will improve things for you.

Regarding sitting, I think you’re doing what you can and that is good enough. The important things are to keep working on the upper body posture. Strengthening the shoulder girdle cannot be overemphasized for aiding prolapse, as farfetched as that may seem. Just the posture alone does this as we learn to hold our shoulders down and broad. Do kegels if they make you feel better.

And for the PT exercise…use your best judgment. Many practitioners are now discouraging the once commonly taught pressing of the lower back into the floor as you describe, and it is not an exercise I would want to do for either my back or my pelvic system. But if you feel it helps you, be your own best judge. Just be sure you alternate with the postural work, which is building the set of muscles that lock the pelvic interior into normal position.

Christine

usaukaus

Thanks Louised, You have given me something to think about. I have now stopped eating red meat and have increased the fruit and vegetables in my diet. I have started drinking extra fibre and am taking some multivitamins. I have been prescribed oestrogen pessaries which I am using twice a week. I am using the vaginal weights every day. I feel like I am training for the Olympics. I am up to 20 grams a day...on some days! On other days I am back to 5 grams. I haven't yet graduated to the small cone. I am dancing! I did some water aerobics and am not sure if this made things better or worse! I am still very conscious of the rectocele and want to do everything in my power to heal. What other suggestions have you got? I live in Melbourne. I still don't want to consider surgery. I haven't read anything which makes me feel confident that this is the way to go. Has anyone used any other devices that have helped repair the damage? This injury has changed the way that I see myself. My self esteem and confidence have taken a bit of a battering, but I am consoling myself with the knowledge that a rectocele is not life threatening. How can I access information on rectoceles that may have been posted over the last couple of years? I went through google and I was unable to open any of the links.

I also have a rectocle (got after having my daughter) and I actually stopped taking multivitamins with Christine's recommendation. I agree with it too because if you are eating healthy why do you need something artificial? It helped me. I am still having trouble with mine though because I haven't made big diet changes yet since I am still nursing and I already have a restricted diet with her allergies. I am still having red meat and other meat because it is helping me keep my weight on. When I stopped I started to drastically lose more and I tried to eat all the other things Christine recommended but with nursing etc. I just couldn't keep up. I am hoping that will help when I'm done nursing because I am still uncomfortable (pressure only). Kegels made my rectocele worse so I stopped them and focus on the posture. Certain yoga poses help me, especially downward dog and the leg lifts from Christine's video. I haven't tried a pessary yet. Let me know if giving up red meat helps you.