Your pelvic floor muscles act like a sling that carries the genitourinary organs in your pelvic area. Pelvic floor prolapse occurs when the pelvic floor muscles weaken over time or due to injury, and one or more organs bulge into your vagina (if you’re a woman) or your rectum (if you’re a woman or man).
Pelvic floor prolapse happens more often in women than in men, but anyone can develop this unpleasant condition, especially with increasing age. Organs that can prolapse include:
Our colorectal experts treat both women and men for pelvic floor prolapse at Colon and Rectal Surgeons of Greater Hartford. If you suspect that you have pelvic floor prolapse, you can see an expert at the location nearest you in Bloomfield, Hartford, Manchester, and South Windsor, Connecticut.
What are the telltale signs of pelvic floor prolapse? Following are four that relate to your colon and rectum.
A type of pelvic floor prolapse that only affects women is called a rectocele. The muscles between your vagina and your rectum weaken. Your rectum falls onto the back of your vagina.
Another type of pelvic floor prolapse that affects women is called an enterocele. In this case, your small intestine drops and presses against either the back wall of your vagina, or the very top of your vagina.
You may have the sensation that something’s caught in your vagina, like a tampon that wasn’t removed. You’re also able to feel the bulge when you insert a finger.
Due to the space that a prolapsed organ occupies, you might not be able to keep a tampon in place; it keeps getting pushed out. Sometimes, with a rectocele, you can actually see rectal tissue protruding from your vagina.
If you’re a woman and you have a rectocele or enterocele, you may have trouble emptying your bowels due to the pressure of the prolapsed organ. You may need to push a finger up into your vagina to support the bulge and alleviate the pressure in order to defecate — a process known as “splinting.”
Pelvic prolapse that affects the rectum in men can lead to rectal tissue falling into your anus. You may mistakenly believe that the tissue you feel and see is a hemorrhoid. However, hemorrhoids tend to resolve on their own over time. Prolapsed rectal tissue does not.
Women can also experience rectal prolapse that affects their anus. If you feel a bulge in your anus, have trouble defecating, or see tissue protruding from your anus, it’s time to see a colorectal specialist.
Both sexes may experience pelvic pain or lower-back pain with pelvic floor prolapse. Your organs aren’t situated where they should be, which can cause pressure and discomfort in the pelvic, abdominal, and back areas.
If you’re a woman with pelvic floor prolapse, you may feel uncomfortable during sex due to the extra tissue in your vagina. You may also be embarrassed by the way you look or feel. In addition, the extra pressure in your pelvic area may make intercourse painful.
If you’re a man with pelvic floor prolapse, you may also experience painful sex. The pressure of misplaced tissue can make ejaculation especially painful.
Kegel and other pelvic floor exercises can help strengthen your pelvic floor muscles, particularly if you have urinary incontinence due to a fallen bladder. In some cases, Kegels can also help early-stage rectal prolapse.
However, if your prolapse is severe, you may need surgery. Surgical correction tightens your pelvic floor muscles, which lifts your organs back into their proper placement.
Do you suspect you have pelvic floor prolapse? Contact our colorectal experts by phone or online form for an evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment plan.
