Menopause Treatment

The decline in oestrogen combined with natural ageing can cause pelvic floor disorders in postmenopausal women. These dysfunctions include incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, and sexual problems.

What is the Treatment for Menopause?

The primary treatment for menopause is Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), which helps to manage symptoms. Women can start HRT to alleviate discomfort during menopause. After a hysterectomy, oestrogen alone may be sufficient, though progestogen is sometimes added. HRT comes in various forms, including tablets, patches, and skin gels.

How Long Should You Take Hormone Replacement Therapy?

The duration of HRT varies for each woman. It’s recommended that women experiencing troublesome menopausal symptoms use HRT to enhance their quality of life. For younger women, HRT is suggested until the average age of menopause (51), as it helps prevent early bone loss and other health concerns.

Is Hormone Replacement Therapy Safe?

While HRT is generally safe, there is an associated risk of blood clots or thrombosis, particularly in the first year of use. Women who start HRT more than 10 years after menopause may also face a slightly increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

Manual Pelvic Floor Exercises to Treat Menopause

When menopause occurs, your oestrogen production is significantly reduced, causing major urogenital atrophy. Urogenital atrophy involves the muscle mass within the vagina wasting away, as well as in the urinary tract. This hormone deficiency weakens the bladder and the urethra, causing them to become less able to control urinary functions. A reduction in oestrogen also affects the acidity of the vulva and the vagina, making it more prone to infection.

In order to maintain and improve your pelvic floor muscle strength it's vital that you exercise those muscles daily to keep it in shape. 

Kegel exercises involve contracting and relaxing your pelvic floor muscles. This helps to keep you in control of your bladder and bowel, as well as improving sexual function and overall health.

Increasing your pelvic floor strength can be achieved at any stage of menopause through pelvic floor muscle training; with women in the middle of menopause being the most responsive to exercises.

Using an Electronic Pelvic Floor Toner to Treat Menopause

If you've never exercised your pelvic floor muscles before, you may find it hard to locate and exercise the muscles correctly. If you think that you don't feel any benefit from doing Kegel exercises, it could be that you're also exercising the muscles incorrectly, as 50% of women do. In these cases, the best option would be to use an electronic pelvic toner to increase the strength of your pelvic floor.

An electronic pelvic toner is able to stimulate 90% of your pelvic floor muscles, compared to the 40% stimulated by manual exercises alone. The Kegel8 Ultra 20 Electronic Pelvic Toner uses neuromuscular electrical stimulation and electrical nerve stimulation to send electrical impulses through the body and to the pelvic floor. These impulses stimulate a contraction within your pelvic floor, building your muscle strength and toning the area.

When Can't You Use An Electronic Pelvic Toner?

You must not use an electronic pelvic floor toner if:

• You are pregnant - You can use it before pregnancy to build your pelvic floor strength for pregnancy, and after to repair any pelvic floor damage.
• You have a pacemaker - It can be possible to use a Kegel8 electronic toner with specific pacemakers, but check with your healthcare provider first.
• You have a form of pelvic cancer - Unless advised to do so under medical supervision, you cannot use an electronic pelvic toner if you have a form of pelvic cancer. Instead, try the Kegel8 Kegel Balls to help you work out your pelvic floor muscles correctly and efficiently.
• You have had recent pelvic surgery (less than 12 weeks ago).
• You have epilepsy.
• There is any infection or tissue damage.

Benefits of Strengthening Your Pelvic Floor During Menopause

Improving and maintaining the strength of your pelvic floor during menopause can help:

• Reduce or eliminate any embarrassing incontinence issues
• Reduce the risk of developing pelvic organ prolapse
• Gain confidence and reduce anxiety
• Improve sexual intimacy and orgasms
• Reduce back pain
• Avoid developing a pelvic floor disorder

How To Relieve Menopausal Symptoms

Strengthening your pelvic floor is a guaranteed method of relieving a variety of menopause symptoms. However, along the way you may need some help from the outside. Other things that you can do to help with your menopause process are:

• Supplement - A lot of vital vitamins are lost during the menopausal process, the main being collagen. This is the vital glue that holds the pelvic floor in place, but we lose it as we age. To keep your pelvic floor flexible and strong, supplement with collagen during menopause. Another 'must take' is Vitamin D + K2 a powerful supplement for bones and muscles.
• Use lubricant - The loss of the hormone, oestrogen, can result in vaginal dryness as the lining of the vagina produces less mucus. The urethra also undergoes a similar process. This dryness can not only put you at a higher risk of developing a urinary tract infection, but it can also make sexual intercourse unpleasant and sometimes painful. This can decrease your sexual drive and activity. Using a safe, hormone free water based lubricant can help to increase the fun and pleasure of sex during menopause.
• Invest in some support shorts - As we age, the bladder becomes less elastic and has more difficulty stretching. As it fills with urine, this loss of stretch can irritate the bladder muscles and cause it to become overactive. This bladder weakness can cause a variety of incontinence issues to you during menopause. Support shorts  and Support Leggings can help to prevent leaks and stress incontinence during exercise by supporting your pelvic floor.
• Use oestrogen cream - Your GP may prescribe you with oestrogen cream if you suffer from vaginal dryness. For some menopausal women, the cream can be more effective than lubricants and moisturisers, but it can cause some side effects. Vaginal oestrogen is also available as pessaries and vaginal rings.
• Maintain a healthy weight - An increased weight can put more pressure on your pelvic floor, which can make menopausal symptoms, such as incontinence, even worse.

Sources

Continence Foundation of Australia (2024) Menopause [online]. Continence Foundation of Australia [viewed 01/10/2024]. Available from https://www.continence.org.au/incontinence/who-it-affects/women/menopause

NHS (2021) Vaginal Dryness [online]. NHS [viewed 01/10/2024]. Available from https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaginal-dryness/

Oxford University Hospitals (2011) The Menopause and Hysterectomy . NHS Trust

Wang T, Wen Z, Li M. (2022 Jul) The effect of pelvic floor muscle training for women with pelvic organ prolapse: a meta-analysis. Int Urogynecol J. 2022 Jul;33(7):1789-1801. doi: 10.1007/s00192-022-05139-z. Epub 2022 Mar 21. PMID: 35312800. [Viewed 01/10.2024]