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Prolapse

What You Can Do

There are many non-invasive treatment options for prolapse, depending not only on the type of prolapse but your age, health, and lifestyle. Options include:

• Kegels: Exercises to strengthen or tone the pelvic muscles can sometimes help with less severe cases of pelvic prolapse.

 

• Pessary: A pessary is a small, ring-shaped device (similar to a contraceptive diaphragm) made from silicone or latex that fits inside the vagina. It works by helping to hold the uterus in place. They come in many shapes and sizes, and this device can be a temporary or permanent form of treatment.

Roughly 50 percent of women who are successfully fitted with a pessary will continue to use it long term, according to estimates from the Mayo Clinic. Pessaries may not be useful with severe uterine prolapse, however, or in cases where there is severe scarring or very weak pelvic floor muscles.

 

• Estrogen supplements: Women in menopause have lower estrogen levels, which can weaken the muscles of the vagina. Estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) may strengthen these muscles, but there are well-documented risks to this type of hormone treatment.

If you are fitted with a pessary (and you are menopausal) your doctor or health practitioner may also prescribe vaginal estrogen cream, tablets or a ring to help strengthen the vaginal tissue.

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