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Summary
The pelvic floor is a group of muscles and other tissues that form a sling or hammock across the pelvis. In women, it holds the uterus, bladder, bowel, and other pelvic organs in place so that they can work properly. The pelvic floor can become weak or be injured. The main causes are pregnancy and childbirth. Other causes include being overweight, radiation treatment, surgery, and getting older.
Common symptoms include
- Feeling heaviness, fullness, pulling, or aching in the vagina. It gets worse by the end of the day or during a bowel movement.
- Seeing or feeling a "bulge" or "something coming out" of the vagina
- Having a hard time starting to urinate or emptying the bladder completely
- Having frequent urinary tract infections
- Leaking urine when you cough, laugh, or exercise
- Feeling an urgent or frequent need to urinate
- Feeling pain while urinating
- Leaking stool or having a hard time controlling gas
- Being constipated
- Having a hard time making it to the bathroom in time
Your health care provider diagnoses the problem with a physical exam, a pelvic exam, or special tests. Treatments include special pelvic muscle exercises called Kegel exercises. A mechanical support device called a pessary helps some women. Surgery and medicines are other treatments.
NIH: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Diagnosis and Tests
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How Are Pelvic Floor Disorders Diagnosed?
(National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI): Dynamic Pelvic Floor (Radiological Society of North America, American College of Radiology)
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Ultrasound -- Pelvis
(Radiological Society of North America, American College of Radiology) Also in Spanish
Prevention and Risk Factors
- Can I prevent Pelvic Organ Prolapse (American Urogynecologic Society)
Treatments and Therapies
- Anterior vaginal wall repair (surgical treatment of urinary incontinence) - slideshow (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
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How Are Pelvic Floor Disorders Commonly Treated?
(National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)
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Kegel Exercises
(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - PDF Also in Spanish
- Pelvic Organ Prolapse--Surgery (American Urogynecologic Society)
- Surgery for Pelvic Organ Prolapse (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) - PDF
- Urogynecologic Surgical Mesh Implants (Food and Drug Administration)
- Vaginal Pessary (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
Related Issues
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Urinary Retention
(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
- What is a Urogynecologist? (American Urogynecologic Society)
Specifics
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Cystocele (Prolapsed Bladder)
(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
- Rectal Prolapse (American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons)
- Rectocele (American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons)
- Small Bowel Prolapse (Enterocele) (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Stress Incontinence (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Uterine Prolapse (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
Videos and Tutorials
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Anterior Repair with Processed Dermis
(BroadcastMed) - Carolina Urology Partners, Charlotte, NC, 7/01/2014
Clinical Trials
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Pelvic Organ Prolapse
(National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Uterine Prolapse
(National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Cystocele
(National Institutes of Health)
-
ClinicalTrials.gov: Pelvic Floor Disorders
(National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Rectal Prolapse
(National Institutes of Health)
-
ClinicalTrials.gov: Rectocele
(National Institutes of Health)
Journal ArticlesReferences and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
Patient Handouts
- Anterior vaginal wall repair (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Pelvic floor muscle training exercises (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Rectal prolapse (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
-
Urinary Retention
(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
- Uterine prolapse (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish