Exercise with Uterine Prolapse

I would say that SOME exercises could make you feel your prolapse is worse, and some will make no difference. And in alot of ways it is how you DO the exercise that makes it better.

Talk walking for example... You could walk down the road stomping your feel and stamping along happily - This is vry jarring on your body - Or - You could walk 'lightly' rolling through the foot - not stomping etc and that is far less jarring on the body

Same with Step Aerobics.... You can stomp-step up and down off of the step - Or you can 'step lightly' The way I found this is when my boys were younger I was doing step at mid night as I had no time in my day - And I had to step light so as to not wake them up...

Over the years I tried many many exercises, then I came down with a disability (Not exercise related) and found I managed to lose the last bit of weight by not exercising - But by knowing my BMR and working with my body and listening to it. Eat when hungry, stop when full etc kinda thing, and choosing not to spend my life snacking, though I still do snack - IF I am hungry. Jut like - 'Eat to live Dont live to eat' - I have that written on my fridge - Put there for my Ex to notice (He didn't - He gained like 70lb whil I lost that 70lbs.

If you also use the tools you have - They can work for you and you don't hafta wear yourself out in gaining what you want... Using 'range of motion' will help you to do less and gain more. In this i mean - When you are working out - ass an extra inch to your stride. See how you will feeeeeeel it in the muscles - Using them more, yet maybe moving slower. Also when doing aerobics - reachhh further - Reach higher, streeeeeeetch the body and it will work for you and you will lose your excess weight while not feeling it is a chore.

Also - You had a baby - Walk using the stroller as a weight - This means you will be working more...

And finally - Remember - Those who lose weight the fastest - Usually gain it back fastest also as they havent changed their lifestyle - They probably just cut calories in the short term.

Personally being pretty sedentary now du to my disability - I still eat 17-1900 calories per day - I am 130-131lbs - And I noticed every time I tried to starve myself - I GAINED weight - The bosy is not something you can ytrick as if you starve yourself - It slows the metabolism working against you. So if you give your body what it needs - FUEL=Food - Your body will then work with you and you will achieve all your dreams.

My dream was to be 140lbs - I achieved that - But it took me a looooooong time - And on the journey I gained and lost and the moment I gave up Diet Coke - The battle for me - Was won. As my weight returned to the weight the balooning started at (145) And anything beyond that has just amazed me - Now - I have been a steady 131 since last December and I am happy here - Half of myself - And very happy :-)

Good Luck on your journey!

MeMyselfandI has given you very good advice about weight loss. She has been around for a long time, and has expressed joy, exasperation, anger, the works. She is fine now, and you will be fine too, eventually.

It takes a full two years for your body to revert after pregnancy, so you are still at the very beginning. A few weeks postpartum is a time when many women experience a worsening of prolapse. Don't know why. You might find that it doesn't improve much for a few months, then suddenly you will realise one day that it is a bit better.

MeMyselfandI invented the term Checkarama for obsessively checking your vulva daily. Just don't do it. It is depressing. You have far more important and useful things to do than look at your undercarriage, trying to will it to get better quicker, which it won't. Once a month, or once every two weeks is all you are allowed. Look at your face in the mirror instead, and smile, and think about how lovely your babies are, even if you are sleep-deprived.

This too will pass. You just have to be very patient for a while, and support your organs by relaxing your belly and keeping your beautiful boobs up high. That way your abdominal muscles get stretched and relaxed as you move, and they will slowly get fitter and pull your diastasis together. If you are always contracting them, and never letting them stretch out they will take longer to regain tone. BTW, leg raises in WW posture, will exercise the same muscles as crunches, and more, without compromising your pelvic floor.

Yes, there is a lot of conflicting information out there. Once you have your book and DVDs you can start understanding your body better, and be able to work out for yourself what exercises, techniques and movements are good or bad for your body, and why. Then you will lose your fear, and you can get on with your life with new confidence.

Louise

Hi Smooch,

Although there certainly are some exercises from the various pelvic health products on the market that are beneficial, none of their authors understand the true nature of female anatomy and function. So while Julie Tupler (and Tasha and Katy) are telling you there is a “floor” at the bottom of your torso, like there is a floor at the bottom of a grocery bag, WW describes the true anatomy of the pelvic organ support system. This is an exceedingly important difference!

All the exercises and postural work we do is designed specifically to move the organs forward - over and in front of the pubic bones, which should be underneath you like flat straps of a saddle. You have a horizontal pelvis that is trying to move the bladder and uterus into the hollow of your rounded lower belly with every breath you take. This is why we shudder when young mommies want to flatten their “mummy-tummy”!!

Squatting all the way down with parallel feet is very good exercise, as long as you maintain your weight on the balls of your feet. Trying to flatten your feet is going to flatten your lumbar curve, regardless of what you hear otherwise. Because the thighs are pulled all the way forward, the tailbone wants to come with them. The exercise of lifting your tailbone while in a full, parallel squat is the maximum we can stretch the hamstrings, sacrotuberous, spinal muscles chain. This is why it supports WW posture if done correctly. Make sure you fold all the forward and relax into this bend after holding a deep squat.

The transverse abs/pubococcygeous being the most supportive of prolapse recovery story, as told by PT and those who follow, is simply not accurate. Only when your psoas and quadratus muscles (the deep abdominals) lift your chest high, do the rectus muscles of both the abdomen and pelvic diaphragm (yes, they can be considered one set of muscles interrupted by the pubic bones) stretch into their functional length and come toward the midline - like a pair of closing elevator doors.

I will take this time to mention that our detractors are doing a great disservice to women by trying to turn them away from the WW work, since what we are describing is of crucial importance to all women - most especially postpartum mothers. Please take a look at Christine’s Column in the Village Post for a deeper look into the “prolapse wars”.

The prolapse thread at mothering.com has been their highest-traffic forum since the beginning of their website. Yet, it is most frequented by a woman who discourages others from WW every chance she gets. Unfortunately, the site is not well-moderated. The woman happens to be a patient of urogynecologist Dr. Goldberg, (re: Christine’s Column), so it seems not out of the realm of possibilities that she, too, is workin’ for the Man. Whether this is the case or not, her prejudice against WW is a reflection of her ignorance about the true nature of the female body. Thank you for your patience as I take this opportunity to voice the situation.

You will be fine, Smooch. I think if you hold out for the Whole Woman Yoga - Second Wheel dvd, you may find that most suitable to your postpartum recovery.

Wishing you well,

Christine