How to Exercise Safely with a Prolapse

Can You Exercise Safely with a Pelvic Organ Prolapse?

We need to regularly exercise in order to help maintain a healthy weight and to stay fit and strong. It is one of the most important ways to help prevent a pelvic organ prolapse. Being overweight or obese puts extra strain on the pelvic floor, weakening it, increasing the severity of existing prolapses and the opportunity for additional prolapses to occur.

Staying Active Can Help Support Your Pelvic Floor

If you already have a pelvic organ prolapse, or you are at an increased risk of developing a pelvic organ prolapse, then you may not be clear on which exercises you can undertake. This guide gives advice to help keep you active and improve the strength of your pelvic floor muscles.

What Exercise Is Safe with a Prolapse?

Staying active with a prolapse is important and, in many cases, gentle exercise can actually help support your pelvic floor and overall wellbeing. Low-impact, moderate-intensity exercise is usually safest, especially when combined with good pelvic floor support and breathing techniques.

Activities such as walking, swimming, cycling, Pilates and pelvic floor exercises can help you stay fit, maintain a healthy weight and support your pelvic floor without placing excessive pressure on the prolapse.

It is important to listen to your body, avoid over-straining and reduce high-impact movements if they worsen symptoms. Support garments designed for prolapse and pelvic floor recovery may also help reduce pressure and improve comfort while exercising.

Prolapse-Friendly Exercises for Weight Loss

Maintaining a healthy weight can help reduce pressure on the pelvic floor and may improve prolapse symptoms. The good news is that you can still lose weight and stay active with a prolapse by choosing low-impact, pelvic floor-friendly exercise.

Some of the best exercises for prolapse support and weight management include:

• Walking or brisk walking
• Cycling or exercise bikes
• Swimming and aqua aerobics
• Yoga and Pilates
• Elliptical and low-impact cardio machines

These exercises can help raise your heart rate, improve fitness and support healthy weight loss while placing less strain on the pelvic floor than high-impact activities such as running or jumping.

Yoga and Pilates can also help improve posture, breathing, flexibility and core strength, with many movements easily modified for women with prolapse symptoms.

Try to vary your workouts throughout the week to allow your muscles — including your pelvic floor — time to recover. Exercising when symptoms feel lighter, such as earlier in the day, may also feel more comfortable for some women.

Prolapse-Friendly Exercises to Build Strength

Building strength with a prolapse is still possible, but it is important to choose exercises that minimise pressure on the pelvic floor. Heavy weightlifting and intense straining can sometimes worsen prolapse symptoms, so controlled, low-impact strength training is usually recommended.

Exercises such as wall squats, supported lunges, resistance bands and light hand weights may help improve muscle tone and overall strength more safely. Focus on good posture, controlled breathing and avoiding breath-holding or straining during exercise.  When exercising support your pelvic floor muscles with Kegel8 pelvic floor exercises, vaginal pessaries, and specialist support garments.

If you are unsure which exercises are suitable for your prolapse symptoms, speak to your healthcare professional, pelvic health physiotherapist or qualified trainer for personalised advice. Most importantly, listen to your body — if an exercise causes pressure, heaviness or discomfort, stop and modify the movement.

Pelvic floor exercise to help with prolapse

Kegels (pelvic floor exercises) have been developed to help strengthen the pelvic floor muscles as they cannot be strengthened or exercised by swimming, walking or cycling. The more they’re trained, the stronger they become and the more they can do their job – holding all of the pelvic organs in place.

They should be completed daily, gradually building them up so that you can hold them for longer, and more frequently. They can be made more beneficial by combing them with an electronic pelvic toner. Electronic pelvic toners contain programmes specifically designed to improve each prolapse you suffer from.

Which Exercises Should You Avoid with a Prolapse?

If you have a prolapse, it is best to avoid exercises that place excessive downward pressure or strain on the pelvic floor, especially high-impact or heavy lifting activities that may worsen symptoms.

Exercises to limit or avoid include:

• Running and jumping exercises
• HIIT workouts, burpees and star jumps
• Heavy weightlifting and weighted squats
• Overhead lifting exercises
• Rowing machines and heavy leg presses
• Wide-stance squats and deep lunges
• Incorrectly performed crunches, sit-ups or planks

High-impact exercise and straining can increase pressure on the pelvic floor and may worsen feelings of heaviness, dragging or vaginal bulging.

Instead, focus on low-impact, pelvic floor-friendly exercise and always listen to your body. If an activity causes discomfort, pressure or worsening symptoms, stop and modify the movement.

Key Takeaways

If there are three important things to remember when exercising with a prolapse, it’s these:

• Listen to your body and your healthcare professional – Every prolapse is different. Follow the advice given by your doctor or pelvic health specialist and choose exercise that feels supportive and comfortable for you.
• Stop if you feel pressure, pain or discomfort – Exercise should not worsen your symptoms. If you feel heaviness, dragging, pain or increased bulging, stop and rest before trying a gentler option.
• Breathe properly during exercise – Holding your breath increases pressure on the pelvic floor. Focus on steady breathing during movement and avoid straining whenever possible.
• Support your pelvic floor muscles with Kegel8 pelvic floor exercises, vaginal pessaries, and specialist support garments.

With the right approach, many women can continue to exercise safely, stay active and successfully manage prolapse symptoms with confidence.

Sources

5 Exercises to Strengthen Your Pelvic Floor 2024 Mays Cancer Center San ANtonio USA. [viewed 28/10/2024] https://cancer.uthscsa.edu/news-and-stories/five-exercises-strengthen-your-pelvic-floor