sitting at work

Hi Ivonush

I am curious. If you don't mind my asking, what sort of work do you do?

It would be helpful to know, so we can come up with some creative suggestions.

Louise

Hi Ivonush

Keeping your lumbar curve in place while sitting is a good move. In my car I have an inexpensive D-shaped lumbar cushion that I bought from a car accessory shop. I fastened a shoulder strap to it, and can carry it over my shoulder. It always travels with me for long trips, whether by car, plane or train.

Keeping your lumbar curve intact puts your lumbar spine right in the middle of your body. When you breathe deep into your abdomen it helps to push your uterus and bladder forward and down, and helps to shift any intestines that are pushing back and down on top of your rectum. the aim of the exercise is to move intestines out of your pelvic space, and move your uterus and bladder forward. Doing both these things will rotate all your organs forwards and stretch your rectum out, so it cannot get squashed down and jammed. You can do this too.

Louise

Yes, it is often better to have a seat that slopes down a little at the front. This is why I like my slightly slopey office 'stool'. It puts me on a firm triangular base, my butt and two feet solidly planted. This puts my weight forward and maintains my lumbar curve. I also have a foam wedge in my car, under the driver's seat cover, for the same reason.

Most seats slope back slightly, including my office chair, before I dismantled it! I think this is why so many chairs are so unfriendly to POP.

They make us sit 'in' them, rather than 'on' them.

They all make the lumbar curve straighten, which tilts the pelvis back and allows all the intestines to press back on the pelvic region, rather than down the front, through the lower abdomen, where they should be pressing. I find that I can only perch on the edge of many chairs for this reason.

I agree that the standard donut cushion is not helpful, because it leaves a gap at the vulva, for the vulva to fall through unsupported. Then the rectocele is not being supported by the vulva, which will make the rectocele uncomfortable.
Your coccyx should be just off the seat in WW sitting posture. You should be sitting evenly balanced between the 'rails' at the base of the pelvis (called pubic rami), pubic symphysis where the two halves of the pelvis meet in the front under your pubic area, and upper thighs.

Don't beat yourself up about this. As your posture has been exactly the opposite of what you are trying to do now, it will take some time to build up strength in the muscles where you need more strength. Your upper body will probably need to learn to be more flexible, and stronger too, so it can keep your mid and upper spine straighter, which will, in turn, maintain your lumbar curve. Just do yit as much as you can, every day day, and you will eventually be able to do it for longer. It becomes a way of life.

Now, having typed all this, I just looked at the "Coccyx Chair Seat Cushion Wedge", and realised that maybe I have misunderstood the pain you have. Is it coccyx pain, or is it more inside the pelvis?

Just a few words of encouragement. After about six months of practising I found that office chairs were very comfortable and pop friendly for me as long I perched on the front of them and kept my lumbar curve in place. I certainly feel less conspicuous doing it on a hard chair at a desk than in an easy chair - I think it just makes me look alert and businesslike.

I don't carry much fat on my bottom and, before I developed stronger buttock muscles with WW posture, sitting on hard chairs gave me callouses on my buttocks and pain from my rather protruding coccyx ( which I think I broke many years ago). Interestingly I can now sit comfortably on hard surfaces without a cushion, I think because I am sitting in a more natural position that protects my bony bits (and I think would protect my anus if I had any problems in that area). I know this doesn't sound very scientific, but I feel we are designed to manage without furniture/ cushions and when we finally master natural sitting posture, most of us are pretty comfortable.

I'm sorry - I haven't followed your history to understand your particular prolapse symptoms - mine aren't very severe, but I can say that in the end, sitting in posture has been the thing that has given me the most relief and improvement - although it is very tiring to begin with and you sometimes have to be creative with different kinds of furniture.

Doubtful