no splint no strain

Oceangirl, I think you’ll be putting a lot of pressure on yourself if you expect everything to slide right out every time. One of the most important aspects of posture and working on the lumbar curvature, is that it teaches you ways to use your body to compensate for issues you will have from time to time. Day to day, I have great variation in what my bowels do and what I have to do to successfully “go”. There is a difference between straining, and giving a little gentle controlled noodge with your muscles (body in a good posture position). That’s the closest I will ever come to anything even remotely like straining. If you have plenty of time and are relaxed and unstressed, you certainly have options in terms of moving around, up-and-down techniques that have been described on the forums many times, and just plain coming back later. I’m often in a situation where I have to get out the door, knowing that my body will simply have to do its thing in its own time. It’s not an easy thing to deal with, but in my case I have dietary issues that I have never addressed that would probably help me keep things moving on their own a little better. - Surviving

Walking is good for bringing on the urge to defecate. A long walk does not always work for me. I guess you have to get the timing right which is what I gather you were attempting to do going on your description above. Sometimes just to stand, maybe read a newspaper for a little while with a slight tightening of the abdominis recti; that area of muscle just below your ribs and around your navel. When in WWposture that area is stretched upward, and if those muscles are weak and flabby as they are in me, to hold a slight deliberate tension helps. In a way it can be like straining to go to the toilet, but it’s at a distance and it’s gentle. Just stand. Probably watching tv is too involving and your stomach muscles will tighten and relax according to which emotions the plot or show are pulling on, that’s why I suggested you read the newspaper, you can put it down, stop reading that particular item and move to another and at the same time remain aware of holding that muscle. Also, the whole deliberate (read deep or exaggerated) diaphragm breathing trick helps wonders. So you continue until you really want to go. Then you go to the throne and try not to sit or your muscles will relax, at least mine do “ah seat, relaxxxx” and that’s not what you want. You want that slight edge of tension held until defecation is complete. So with your weight on your feet and legs, even your hands resting your top body weight on your knees. Slow, gentle, smooth wipe out.
But hey, don’t sweat it. Think it through, experiment, add your own personal variation, get it right and it will become second nature. Our own rituals are powerful things.

Ocean, yes, I think that can be an attainable goal. There are many with rectocele who do not splint, and others who, over time by doing WW work, have been able to reduce or eliminate it. That being said, I think is it a useful skill to have, one that you can always fall back on, when things are not cooperating for you! I myself do not splint and never heard of it before I joined this forum. I don't have the kind of relationship with my body that would have ever allowed me to discover it on my own. I would go so far as to say that I have sometimes wished I had cultivated this skill, which might have come in handy for me on many occasions! - Surviving

What is splinting? And how do you do it?

Hi Oceangirl,
I have a stage 2 rectocele,(I prolapsed 5 months ago) and I'm leaning about my body from Christine's book. I didn't know anything about prolapse until it happened to me. I had bad bathroom habits because I am a busy, fast paced person and always in a hurry with everything I do. I have 4 young kids (youngest is 21 months). I rarely have to splint and I don't really like it. I've changed things by eating really healthy and slowing down some. What works for me to have ease of elimination is thinking about the fire breathing. I always want to push, which is a bad habit, so instead, when I have the urge, I go to the bathroom, sit in WW woman posture, take a deep breath in with belly extended, then blow out through pursed lips as I draw my stomach in. That helps me to not hold my breath and strain. Hope this helps.

Great idea Marla! What a wonderful example of applying WW principles. Love this post! - Surviving

I would add that you don't press back against the vaginal wall any more than necessary to get the bulge back in line. Adding some firebreathing into your day may also help to draw the gut contents further into your body and have a further straightening effect. The rectum does have (four?) little valve thingies which makes the rectum slightly more like a string of cocktail sausages and more bendable than a long hot dog. It is designed to collapse a little so there is not a completely straight tube. The stoppage problem happens when it almost gets tied in a knot! Firebreathing allows it to spread out a little, enough to get the flow happening.

Another trick is to massage your abdomen. Take a look at a diagram of the abdominal contents, http://www.arthursclipart.org/medical/digestive/large%20intestine.gif . You will see that the large intestine starts on the right side, where an appendix scar often is, passes to the other side underneath the stomach, to the other side and down again, then travels straight down towards the left hip bone, then towards the midline, then inwards and down towards your anus. Note that these diagrams are always drawn with the person lying on their back in Anatomical position. Your large intestine may be deeper but less curved when you are sitting on the toilet. It is all very mobile.

Start at the appendix scar while sitting on the toilet, and do little, very firm circles with your knuckles, moving along the arcing path of the large intestine, finishing just above your pubic hair. You might feel some tender spots. I am not sure what they are, but I think they are probably firm stool pressing against other organs. Do the whole path a couple of times.

This often gets things moving quickly for me, both by physically moving the gut contents along a bit, and by irritating the large intestine a bit with the firm pressure. It often results in a further bowel movement. None of us who are prone to constipation are really ever out of the woods. It always seems to come back. Now I know all the tricks I have learned here, I always have another tool in my box! This means that I don't have to worry that I am helpless. I am not. Neither are you! You have the power to fix this. Go, go Gadget Constipation Fixer! ;-)