Activities that you do

I would also like to know!! Going question. Yesturday, I took down my Christmas decorations from the upstairs storage, and put them up. And, boy did I pay for it!! My uterus felt like it was all squished and sore, and I felt so heavy down there. I did some of the jiggling and exercises and just layed down the rest of the evening. I finally had a bowel movement this morning after 2 days, and now I feel ok today. I hate feeling so restricted and tentative to do normal daily activities!!! My DVD should be here soon; I can't wait to start!!

Well, speaking for myself.....I was never an athlete (though I've usually kept myself fit). So in my 60's I'm not about to take up a new sport, if that's the kind of info you're looking for. I don't need broken bones or injuries; I avoid putting myself in the path of those types of things.

But basically, I do everything I always did. If I overdo (yardwork, heavy cleaning, or any number of things that strain the organs or make it hard to stay in posture) I pay the price later, just like everyone else. When you practice WW posture, know the tools, know the power of rest, know that you can get back to your baseline level of prolapse easily enough (remember, things are moving around all the time) then you lose your fear of doing things. I just live normally - Surviving

Hi petrified - You will feel so much better once you realize you can do things for yourself. I think I'd be feeling sorry for myself too, if I had to ask someone to carry the laundry for me! This is what WW posture is for. If you learn it and practice it every waking moment, you can do what you need to do. If you have to fall out of posture for a few minutes, it's no big deal. I know it is hard to get past the fear and the feeling of being restricted. Work hard!!! - Surviving

Yes, the bowel thing can be literally a pain! Before Thanksgiving I was on my way with a more vegan/vegetarian diet with real whole grains, beans, and lots of vegetables. I also started adding more fruit which really does help, I have noticed. I had the smoothest, longest, easiest bowel movements of my life. I couldn't believe it! Well, then, thanksgiving and heavy food happened, and I am back to square 1. It has been especially hard on my uterus with all that pushing and pressure from my rectum and bowels, but I am back at it, so hopefully, I will get that feeling again and stop abusing my uterus!
I know things can always be worse, I used to work in a hospice, but I don't think anyone has the right to diminish our feelings and concerns for any reason. Just know I and all these wonderful ladies on this forum are here for you!

I'm walking. A lot. Between walking the dogs out at the dog park and on my treadmill I walk 4 miles a day. I plan to get back on my bicycle in the Spring (I live in Wisconsin so no biking for a few months). It gives me some time to master the WW Posture. I will start swimming in a week or so in my gym's saline pool.

I feel like I am giving up so much in such a short time. I think that is what stinks the most about my prolapse. I literally went from one day feeling just fine to the next day having prolapse of just about every abdominal organ. No more running. No more jumping. No more lifting weights. All gone in a day. It cut a huge hole in my social life since my main day time friends are the ones I played with outside and at the gym. I miss them.

I'm not too encouraging. I'm sorry. This is new to me, too.

I have a long history of constipation from anti-depressants and probably diet. I found ridding myself of the meds (8 years ago!) and adding fat to my diet really helps. I also eat a ton of winter squash. I find the fiber from that food excellent for maintaining regular bowel movements. That, and a cup of 1/2 caff in the morning. :)

I get a bit nervous about making things worse. I still have that fear of everything getting worse. I trust that will go away after learning the WW Posture and readjusting to my new circumstances. I think with some time you will get over the anxieties. Hang in there. I'm with ya!

Walk
Work 12 hour nursing shift on a med-surg unit that is heavily orthopedic (lots of lifting) 3 nights a week
Travel with two small children and our luggage, by myself
Walk several flights of stairs with a 16-month old in one arm and a folded double stroller in the other
Have sex
Drive an hour to go shopping
Go shopping
Haul groceries, two bags at a time up two flights of stairs
Cook from-scratch meals 3x/day, 7 days/week
Bake bread
Take ballet class
Jump & run around with my boys
Ride roller coasters
Camp
Hike
Clean my entire condo every week
Laundry - lots and lots of laundry
Play hours upon hours of Thomas the Train
Knit
Bike
Exercise with hand weights
Have a glass of wine
Throw dinner parties
Enjoy a movie
Wear 4" heels and enjoy a night out with DH
Get pregnant post POP, have vaginal birth
Rinse, repeat

Normal enough? Been at this for nearly 4 years now. I just do it all in posture and guess what? It just keeps on improving! Sure, sometimes I add a little "Nauli TLC" but mostly as long as I'm in WW posture I can do what I want *and* improve simultaneously.

Time, and posture, are your friends! Try whatever you want -- just try it in WW posture.

Hi Petrified

Could I suggest that you get a smaller washing basket? Leave it at the top of the stairs on a trolley and wheel it around the house, to collect dirty washing and distribute clean washing. Bring manageable bundles of clean washing up the stairs, clasped to your chest and put them in the washing basket. Then go down and get another arm full. Carrying a smaller load close to your chest means you don't have to bring your shoulders forward, so you can stay in WW posture all the way up the stairs. Sure, you will do a few more trips, but each climb in posture is good for your POPs and for your leg muscles.

It is just a matter of how you look at tasks. There is always a more POP friendly way of doing them. Your body will love you for finding ways you can nurture it.

Louise

Would walking up and down the stairs have an effect though? I find that when I climb stairs or hills, the POP gets seems to drop more. I have been trying to avoid stairs too because my pelvic floor physio said that stairs could have contributed to the POP. I have just lived for 5 years on the third floor of an apartment where there was no elevator, and we had stairs also up to the bedrooms. My work was also on the third floor and I used to run up and down them many times a day. Would the physio be correct? Luckily for me, three months ago we left that town and I no longer have to frequently go up and down stairs.

I can relate to having a fear that things will get worse because of doing too much. Until I started walking. I realised that doing not much was also making things worse...

It is all about the right balance and mindful listening to our bodies...

(I struggle at present, as I still want to run and my "leg stops me"...)...
My body is a good teacher, but I don't always listen to it...

Walking is all I want to do right now; I used to walk all the time, and I loved it! It has been about a month ago that I noticed my cervix popping out of me in the shower when I threw my leg up against the wall to shave it, although I had been getting aches and twinges for a lot longer than that. Since then I have been afraid to just go for a walk like a used to. Granted I have fone to the store and walked around, but I always felt my little friend slinking down to the opening of my vagina. Very scarey!
But, since finding this site, working on the ww posture, and doing some of the exercies, the old girl has been staying up there a little higher now. Just got my "First Aid for Prolapse" DVD in the mail yesturday, and will start doing those exercise today, and then maybe that walk....

Dear Aging Gracefully

LOL about shaving your legs!! Sorry! But seriously ... I don't think it would be easy to maintain your lumbar curve in that position. Could I suggest a little water-friendly stool in your shower recess, to put your foot on, instead of the wall? Or you could sit on it and shave your legs while sitting. Nah, it is not being a wuss. It is being sensible. Don't give that cervix any opportunity at all to escape. Nil! Nada! Zero! Permanently indoors!

Louise

Ya, that was real scarey, so I haven't been throwing my leg up anymore! Lol! Thanks for the suggestion about the stool. Yes, we can adapt!!!

90 degrees is 1/4 of a circle. Not sure how you can walk up stairs being that bent over. Are you thinking 180, Petrified?

well, I never was the athlete and I've suffered from arthritis and fibromyalgia since my early teens so my goals might be a bit different than yours, but here's what I can do even with POP:
garden
walk
swim
run around with my kids
carry my toddlers
have sex
birth babies
paint my walls
housekeeping chores
carry groceries
move furniture
lug stuff up to/down from our attic
laundry
cook
entertain
dress up (even with heels/pantihose) when the occasion calls for it
dance
travel (even 14 hr flights)
I'm sure I'm leaving stuff out. but pretty much I do everything I want to do.

I love this thread! Thank you bad_mirror for starting the response so vividly and so filled with life. I can add little to these lists of daily activities....I do them all although my kids are big now so the chasing after them is a bit different. So, all of the above with the addition of playing the cello. Best wishes to you dear Petrified52. Are you no longer petrified?

I do (just about) everything I did before POP. Mine happened about 2.5 years ago. And I have been practicing the WW posture/exercises for not quite 2 years now. When it first happened (age 47 as well) I had lots of pain, pelvic inflammation, pressure ... it was awful. At that time I cut out almost all activities (except walking, funnily enough, because even though it felt weird doing it I never felt worse after it). Once I found this site and started applying the WW techniques things slowly improved. I added activities back in one at a time so I could assess how they made me feel. I am a sporty-type so here goes:

walking
hiking
mountain biking
downhill skiing
gym (elliptical/treadmill + free weights)
Christine's yoga
Bikram yoga
golf (walk + carry clubs)
skating
gardening

And all the other stuff moms of teenage boys do: cook, shop, clean, laundry. See I still chase after them but it is down mountains on skis and bikes and such now!

Within my activities I just reject those aspects that are detrimental to POP - like no crunch-type ab work, no lifting really heavy weights or lifting in questionable positions, maintain lumbar curve in yoga, etc etc.

I remember once Christine saying that we are not delicate flowers but strong women. We are meant to move, just move mindfully with proper posture, clothing and diet!

This thread just keeps getting better ! Shouldn't this whole thing be documented in the "Success" Category or somewhere where all newbies can take hope and optimism from it. Love to all of you and how I love reading these. It makes me stronger in posture than ever, knowing the future is good.

I will shift this Topic to the Success Stories Forum when I have finished the post.

Petrified, all activities have an upper limit, but we don't have to operated at that limit, especially if there is good reason not to. Why do we take things to the limit?

To prove something to ourselves?
That we are stronger than someone else?
That we can carry as much as we used to?
That we are heroines?
To serve our families?
To be more efficient?
To save time?

Not really worth it in the long run, is it?

I used to be very gung ho, but now I ask myself if I could do it easily, or with a struggle. If the answer is "with a struggle", I re-think it or get help. Ironically, I lift and shift greater loads by myself than I do when I am sharing a load with my husband. If I am the only person lifting, I am in control of all movement, which includes dropping the object mid-task. If I am sharing the load I have to consider what unpredictable manoeuvre my husband might spring on me, that might cause me to lose my balance or change direction suddenly, to compensate. There has to be a lot of planning and communication right through with two of us, which drives him nuts. Too bad. I love nuts.

Louise

Hi Dionysus, just catching up.

When walking up stairs, the leg lift load is born higher and longer than the leg lift load when walking on the flat. I found that this was especially noticeable in the pulling of the groin area and the inside leg muscles. I concentrated on building the strength in the groin area and now find that walking up stairs is not as damaging to the prolapse as I had experienced previously and can mostly do three flights unscathed by further drop.

Thank you Christine and all of you lovely ladies, I feel like a new person, my skin has healed and I am doing every day the house activities that I was not able to do before I discovered your site! I will provably need to keep using the Red Clover Tea and Balm all my life to keep my skin healthy and free of the intense pain. I can sit and I am going for walks! It is 3 months of happiness !!!
Thank you!
Solita

Thanks for the update, Solita. So happy that Christine's LS measures are working for you. These remedies are tried and true, and have a lot of research and science behind them. But the best thing is when people come back to report their successes! - Surviving

I want to share with you that I am thinking to buy seeds of red clover and transform part of the grass of my patio into a beautiful red clover patch, they need less water than the grass plants and the pollinators will be happy having flowers to visit for a change and if there are enough flowers I could dry some for my own red clover tea.
I may be dreaming that they will grow and flower here, but it is a nice dream ....
Have a good weekend! Solita

slowing down. I needed this thread. I have an extremely athletic husband and I've been killing myself to be someone I am not... super athlete! I am a damn strong woman but I don't need to lift 100lbs to prove it! All I proved is that having 3 vaginal births weakens tissue. :)

Thank you for being all of YOU! It is a process, but i'm starting to believe I can be young and strong and beautiful pushing myself to keep up with boys and girls 20 years my junior.

don't cause prolapse. I can't believe that, we're made to have babies and push them out of our vaginas. And not just one baby- two, three, even ten.

Now a big fat episiotomy and forceps forced into the vagina, while pushing in the supine position? Maybe.

sometimes damage tissue. We are living longer and longer, having bigger babies, eating poorly, exercising stupidly (I was) and living in shoes and clothing that God or Evolution (whatever you choose to believe) did not design. Women died (or die) in childbirth or afterwards on a daily basis around the world; even in the most 'natural' of circumstances. Our design isn't perfect.

Great point about positioning during childbirth.

Still, pretty clear data that women who have not had a vaginal birth rarely experience prolapse. Until we change how we do it, vaginal births will remain a risk factor. In my opinion, of course!

Spammie, plenty of data showing women who have never given birth by any method, still get prolapse. This shows that bad posture and bad habits throughout life are at least as contributory as birthing is. - Surviving

"Rarely" was the wrong word to use. I've read that having a single vaginal birth increases the odds of prolapse 10 fold (subsequent births not significantly so). Even more data starting to show that just being pregnant increases the odds. Being pregnant changes the pelvic floor anatomy.

I do agree that chronic cough and constipation, poor diet, poor posture are all factors. I'm not sure I would go as far as putting them individually in the same category as pregnancy as far as risk factors (put them all together and I'm sure it is a recipe for problems) but this is all new to me.

Old habits die hard.

The way I understand it is that so many factors are at play in causing prolapse - many times, birthing is simply the catalyst, that proverbial straw. Some factors play a stronger role than others (lifelong constipation for example. The young, never been pregnant women that come here with prolapse almost all have that one in common!). That's why WHOLEwoman address all of these issues and looks at the woman and her environment as a whole. There are so many changes to make for this to work - beautiful, positive changes.

Let's say we have a woman who has grown up without anyone ever telling her to suck and tuck, a woman who ate live, rich food that flowed through her digestive system, a woman who birthed a big fat healthy baby totally unhindered, pushing in the way her body told her to do so. Would she have prolapse after having that baby? After having five more babies? Her pelvic organs are definitely going to have to have a certain amount of mobility they didn't have before,... But full blown prolapse? I don't think so.

Some things we will just never know for sure. But in my bones I can feel the truth of what Chicka has just described. I slumped for years while simultaneously sucking and tucking at every opportunity, especially while exercising. Plenty of bad food and constipation during that period. Then, two large babies, after which I sure did feel bulgy, but prolapse was not a word in my vocabulary, and it eventually "healed" on its own. Back to sucking and tucking and bad habits for another decade or two. And VOILA - full-blown prolapse at menopause. - Surviving

I have been here for 6+ months and I do not remember the number, but several young never-preganant women joined us here announcing their prolapse. Some were young women who have not even had a sexual relationship yet. So many contributing factors. I am a believer in the proper posture and the proper diet and exercise to both prevent and to manage. We are so fortunate to have this site and to have Christine and all these ladies as our sisters!

Foot in mouth. You will have to forgive me.

on a lighter note: MY BOOK IS HERE!

I'll be back in a few days. :)

*with questions*

because the list of what I can do is endless.

but I refuse to do anything without thinking it over first. So if raking the leaves seems like a stupid thing to do, I don't do it. Ditto picking up the sleeping 6 year old to get him out of the car and into his bed (could I do it? sure. but is it a bad idea. yep).
I don't try to lift things by myself- things like couches.
I don't kill myself keeping a clean house (and I did before, in fact, before I would lug a baby around on my hip all day and try to clean things. that was nuts).

But I've been an athlete my whole life. I will still do a backflip off the diving board or a back handspring in the yard. I work out. I've been back at it for the last 2 months and things are good. I run 6 or 7 miles a week (one short fast run and one long slow run) and swim for about an hour the third day. I do lift weights- and some heavy weights, but I build up to it and I pay attention to what and how I'm doing what I'm doing. I like free weights for that- machines give a false sense of the body in that way.
I do carry my baby on my back when I need to.
I took all 5 to busch gardens last week and rode roller coasters.
I push a stroller.
I hunch and slouch with the best of them at times (teaching the kids to ride a bike for example).
and yes. I have a prolapse. But if I do something stupid, I don't pay dearly. I just nauli more and things move back up.
and I do think pregnancy and birth contribute to prolapse. Stretching out all those lovely ligaments that hold things together, splitting the abdominal muscles, and then the unfortunate ripping of the perineum- yes. It's a good recipe. But to be completely honest, I think it's intended to work that way, a little pelvic settling is a good thing!
Now, the whole *cervix is out by 2 inches thing*? Ya, that's not pregnancy or birth pelvic settling. That's something more involved.
Time though, in time all things sag :)

There are so many factors in POP. Having a baby is one that always has some effect on the pelvic organs and connective tissue in the pelvic and abdominal cavities. We are designed to birth vaginally. Most first births (in hospitals) have some sort of intervention. Some have CS, which is destructive of tissue and is not without major risks. Not sure if we have had lots of women who have had CS turn up with prolapse as a result of CS only? Constipation and straining are a *major* factors. Without constipation and consequent straining, and badly managed births, I don't think prolapse would progress from laxity of tissue to full blown, the way that it does.

POP, no matter how it comes to be, is simply the perfect storm, alerting us that we now have no sensible choice, other than to revise our posture, breathing, diet, clothing, exercise regime, and how we use our bodies in everyday tasks and activities.

To ignore any of these is not doing your God-given body justice.

To build these changes into your lifestyle is giving your body the assistance it needs.

Louise

I feel that chickaboom's comment rings true for me - I learned to tuck & suck in a dance class I took from age 10 to 14. Lots of people complimented my good posture and I kept it up until my pregnancy! I had bronchitis every winter from age 5 to sometime in my teenage years. Every winter after that I have had at least one cold with a terrible eye-watering, side-breaking cough that lasted for weeks (until this winter when I stayed at home with my new baby). I birthed vaginally, labouring on my feet until I got to hospital where I ended up pushing for a bit more than 2 hours on my back (the midwife encouraged 3 pushes per contraction), with an episiotomy at the end as I was tearing and tiring of pushing. I was proud that with little preparation I birthed without asking for any intervention that my midwife couldn't provide (my partner's job disappeared with 2 months of his pay when I was 6 months pregnant, it took him a while to find a new job and so our focus was not so much on the birth as on how we would manage financially afterwards...luckily it all worked out but I honestly resent my energy being taken away from preparing for the birth, I deeply regret my lack of preparation and that I didn't have the energy to force my partner to discuss what he thought parenthood and babycare would entail. I do not regret my vaginal birth though, even though it wasn't totally ideal I was able to have skin to skin contact with my baby as soon as he was out, and establish breast feeding fairly smoothly. I really think breastfeeding helped keep depression about my stupid POP at bay). Afterwards I spent most of my time resting and nursing my baby at an oblique angle. I really think it was the birth and poor resting posture afterwards that was the straw that broke the camel's back, that I was set up for this to happen when I learned 'good' posture at age 10. Next time I won't get stuck on my back, pushing how the midwife says and I'll have two years of WW practice behind me too and a recovery plan. And a partner with more realistic expectations too, haha!

Ya know, we expect a lot, don't we? Nothing is perfect. Yes, we were designed to birth vaginally, but that doesn't mean that we don't push the envelope by doing it. We don't live in a vacuum. We have real lives and free will to take on things that might break us temporarily or permanently. These are learning experiences when it goes pear-shaped.

Life is hard sometimes, and we don't always get to do things the right way, or the way we would choose. Sometimes we have to just suck it up and deal with life's little imperfections. We have a body. We have a brain to help us to decide how to do a task, and modify it halfway through if it isn't working.

We cannot go back and change the past, but we can start from now and make a different future. Being positive about "Yes, I can, if I give myself the time and energy!" is a good place to start. If we start out by saying, "But, I can't do this, or I am sensitive to that, or this won't work for me", isn't going to move us on from a bad place where we are stuck.

I hear what you are saying petrified! When I started getting severe perimenopausal symptoms, I tried to discuss it with my daughter, but she was having none of it, like it was all in my head. I want to rejoice and tell her all about whole woman and what it has to offer, but am afraid she will not listen to me.
It is like women still have to stay in the closet, and I hate that! It is a good thing my husband is open-minded; he doesn't like to hear all the Gorey details, but he is very supportive of my journey. He'll ask me if I did my exercises, and if I am standing in ww posture if he sees me slouching! Lol!
It is wonderful to have this forum where no one is squeamish and judgmental, but everyone is curious! I just love it!!

Hi Petrified

You are perceptive enough to see that she 'has been educated in the medical profession'. Yes, there is nothing quite like being educated in a learning system which is passed on from generation to generation of medical people, to close off the mind to other possibilities that are not a part of their system. There are now worldwide, many alternative healing modalities and public access to numerous traditional medicine and healing systems, many of which borrow from each other, but medicine does not. It is like an entomologist debating with a software engineer about whether insects or computers are more powerful. It is a debate that has no conclusion.

Some medical people 'get it', and are confident enough of their own abilities and area or expertise to tell patients to go and see other non-medical practitioners. Some, my own local doctor of choice among them, has done studies in naturopathy or other disciplines. We just have to meet with medical people positively and if we discover that their reality is different from ours, take their advice away with you and assess it in your own time, testing it against your own reality, and make a rational decision one way or the other, using extra professional opinions as well, if necessary.

You have a snowball's chance in hell of influencing your nurse friend regarding POP. I think she is just justifying her own beliefs by telling you what she did. Now if you can go back and see her in twelve months time, with your improvements in symptoms, she can figure it out for herself, if she has the brains and the analytical intelligence to do it. It will be self-evident to her.

I know you were just having a rant, but it is worth considering where she is coming from as a victim of medical culture. You can lead a horse to water ...

Louise

I told my daughter and my step-daughter about all of this. They were not comfortable with the conversation but I told them they had to listen anyway because it is a woman thing and they need to know what I did not know. Well, six months into this, I now heard my daughter refusing to follow instructions from her yoga teacher....she said, no tucking the tailbone or sucking the tummy in for me! She also wrote me three days ago asking for information on this forum since one of her friends is scheduled for surgery and she wanted to steer them here to WW. Guess what, we need to keep speaking about this whenever we are comfortable to because I see now that it does matter, sink in, etc, in it's own time. Love to you both.

Spamelah - I can relate to everything you are saying. I'm impressed you've continued with the exercise. I've been diagnosed with bladder prolapse (a month ago) and I'm worried about getting back into my normal exercise routine (spinning at the gym) which I love!! I'm a young 54, and am worried that I'm "disabled" now.

Question - are you working out with a pessiary? Also - do you have bladder prolapse as well as uterine?

love the name!

I am far from doing the same exercise i was doing prior to prolapse 3 months ago, and I am still struggling with the switch to lower impact, lighter weight routines that are so much better for my body. I have not tried Spin yet but I am going to do so once I switch from my Crossfit gym back to a general health club with a non-chlorine pool. I do not think that will cause much problem, but I will need to be mindful not to stress the abs.

What I am doing right now is fast walking on the treadmill at a high grade. It is high enough and long enough of a time for me to sweat and breathe heavy. My goal is to do interval training and I think I can get there.

I have all types of prolapse! Uterine (Stage 1-2), anterior and posterior vaginal wall sagging due to bladder and rectum pressure. Everything is still inside of me, and for that I am grateful. I work out with the pessary because it is more comfortable that way. I try to remove it shortly afterwards.

We are not disabled! I so get how you are feeling, though. It is one thing to make the choice to exercise at a lighter level because it is best for a woman's body, it is another thing to be forced to make that choice because of a physical ailment that cannot be undone; only managed. I believe we are grieving.

Right now my bladder bugs me more than anything. It is being pinched somewhere! I keep trying to find a way to unpinch it. AUGH! I'll find a way.

I, too, was engaged in a gym class called "group power" for the last four years. I was going twice a week, and yes, our trainers always encouraged us to lift more weight. Strangely, earlier this year I completely lost interest in group power and dropped it completely. It wasn't until Novembe 10, when I was pulling a rubber tree out of my garden in Florida that I discovered my prolapsed bladder.

Anyway, whether the weight lifing (squats, lunges, abs) contributed to my prolapse - yes, probably. More than anything, though, my gut tells me that since I'm post menopausal the lack of estrogen allowed my vaginal walls to cave in.

Just can't stop thinking about it, and knowing I can't fix it. You are right. I am grieving for who I used to be (only just a month ago!). I'm sorry you are in pain. Do you also have incontinence with it? Luckily, I've dodged that bullet. You sound very strong and in touch with your feelings. I admire you, and will follow your posts! GOOD LUCK!

I have an appointment this tuesday to be fitted for a pessiary. Wondering which one will work and I should use.....

Penny, pardon us for a moment.

Hey Spammie, are ya forgettin' somethin? I just can't quite put my finger on it.....is there ANYTHING you're doing differently these days?

What was it? It's on the tip of my tongue......

Hi Pennymargarita, and welcome.

Yes menopause does have an effect on connective tissue and on the vaginal lining, but it is not necessarily 'the' cause of your vaginal walls caving in. The walls 'cave in' because intraabdominal pressure is pushing the vagina downwards and making damaged connective tissue between your bladder and vagina deform, allowing the bladder to impinge on the vaginal space. Whole Woman posture will allow your bladder and the uterus on top of it to move forwards, and away from the vagina. Your vagina will lengthen, so it is less prone to being squashed wider. Lifting your chest will increase your lumbar curve, which in turn allows your pelvis to tip forward and tip your bladder and uterus forward as well. You actually have a lot of inherent design features in your body to keep your pelvic organs inside you.

When you do heavy physical exercise involving lifting a lot of weights, and you don't maintain your lumbar curve, you are simply putting more weight on your vagina, bladder and rectum, exacerbating the tendency to prolapse these organs. In WW posture the pelvic cavity turns a corner, out the back of the abdominal cavity, out of the way of these forces, so your pelvic organs are safely out of the way.

They type of exercise that you choose when you have POP is critical to not worsening it. I would recommend Christine Kent's DVD series, which are yoga based, safe for POP, and strenuous enough for all but the most dedicated gym junkies, when practised to the extreme. No, they won't give you a real cardio workout, but you can get that by walking in WW posture, carrying or wearing weights if you want to.

The choice is yours. You can continue to push your postmenopausal body in a direction that may lead to worse prolapse, or you can 'know what's good for you' and choose your exercise more carefully, and stay fit, and in one piece, that way.

I guess it really depends if you are exercising to prove that you still can keep up with, or outdo younger people at the gym, or to keep your body working well into old age.

Or you can go and have surgery, with all its gambling risks.

BTW, all the risks of all the different surgeries are in Saving the Whole Woman, Christine Kent's book. The chapter on surgery is all referenced from well respected, peer-reviewed medical journals, so it is all fact.

Louise :-)

I am really pleased as I will be soon able to get back to my Yoga First Wheel, which I enjoyed in the past! I am more able to walk around. Really miss my long walks...
I wish I could do some ice-skating, but not this year. I still need to be careful with my leg...
And, hopefully in new year I will be back with my weekly "5Rhythms"...
I also think about joying some art classes...(if I get up for...10am; I have become rather lazy and procrastinating a lot in the morning)...

Ikam, you need to get on that good melatonin-producing sleep schedule. In bed by 10 PM and up by 6 AM. Hang in there, my dear. - Surviving