The Right Pelvic Floor Support Garments To Help You With Pelvic Organ Prolapse
It’s not quite your everyday Spanx, but it helps “hold it all in,” and just a little more.
Behold, pelvic floor support garments to help you “keep it all in” in terms of the pelvic organ prolapse you may be experiencing.
Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POP) is that condition where either your vagina, bladder, or urethra protrudes or prolapses from its original position. And pelvic floor support garments help a pelvic organ prolapse patient stay comfortable through the additional pressure that these garments provide.
According to the University of Chicago – Center for Pelvic Health via the US National Institute of Health, the following statistics depict the prevalence of pelvic health issues among women:
The Spanx analogy is a bit on point. While Spanx “keeps it all in” and makes the body look toned and svelte under garments, pelvic floor support garments also “keep it all in.” It lets the pelvic organ prolapse patient not only look better in everyday wear, but also move comfortably, and regain a more normal lifestyle.
In this article, we’ll discuss the following topics:
Living with a Prolapse
Your pelvic floor muscles are endurance muscles that hold your bowel, uterus, and bladder in place within your pelvic area. Ideally, these muscles must be strong and tight to support the abdominal and pelvic organs and keep them their function intact. When these muscles weaken, the organs kept in, naturally, will have the potential to “slip into” or “slip out” of the vagina.
Hence, POP happens when the muscles of the pelvic floor, including the tissues and ligaments which hold the organs to the pelvic wall, become torn, stretched, or weakened. POP, as well as incontinence secondary to weakened pelvic floor muscles, are becoming a major problem for women. The condition often requires pelvic floor strengthening exercises, physiotherapy, and at times surgery to rectify the problem.
This is the reason your nurse or midwife will continually emphasize the need for you to perform pelvic floor exercises (e.g., Kegel) throughout and after your pregnancy. It is crucial that women of all ages perform Kegel exercises, especially after childbirth, and around menopause, and even after.
While prevention is often better than cure, if you are already experiencing POP, you need to talk with your healthcare provider for the best options for treatment and management.
Moreover, we know that living with a prolapse brings persistent lower back pain, and the discomfort of increased vaginal discharge, not to forget, pain during sexual contact. Thus, most women become upset or even depressed and cope by looking for different solutions to living with this limiting and uncomfortable condition.
With mild symptoms, sustaining a healthy weight, avoiding heavy lifting, and performing special exercises can significantly help. Others are recommended the use of a vaginal pessary to help with persistent symptoms.
Many women nowadays use pelvic floor support garmentsthat are endorsed or recommended by healthcare providers to aid in relieving the constant, heavy, “bulging” feeling in the pelvic and vaginal area.
Common Factors That Contribute to Prolapse:
• Obesity
Finding the Right Pelvic Floor Support Garments
Are you looking for the perfect support for your prolapse instead of going under the knife? Or maybe, you want to start using pelvic floor support garments while waiting for your surgery?
Either way, a range of pelvic floor support wear could manage the discomfort that is associated with your POP. Even pregnant women can use these products as these are adjustable, discreet under clothing, and often offer just the right support you need. Although, before wearing pelvic floor support, you may want to ask for sizing advice, to find that perfect fit.
Whether in the form of pants, belts, or underwear, the right support products can ease the pain and/or discomfort that you’re having. If you plan to wear these garments for long, as you work to increase your pelvic floor strength, or just until the time of your surgery, you should feel supported and comfortable along your journey.
Practical Benefits of Wearing Pelvic Floor Support Garments:
Pelvic Floor Support Garments Options
The use of pelvic floor support garments and undergarments is a work-in-progress. Many designers, often women who understand or have experienced the condition, come up with products that are being marketed to “hold the insides up” effectively while supporting the vaginal area.
Some women argue that not everyone’s symptoms will be resolved by wearing these customized pants, belts, and underwear. While others testify to achieving comfort and pain-free everyday living with these garments in place.
Here are some of the more popular pelvic floor support garments:
Hide-A-Way: While it looks like a regular male supporter, it was actually designed and created by a woman who had bladder prolapse and couldn’t find a design that suited her needs. She ended up creating her own garment, which looks pretty discreet, and even sexy!
V-Brace: While it’s a little unsightly and looks more like an adult diaper than a regular pelvic organ prolapse garment, the V-Brace by Fembrace, is a patented design that’sactually pretty excellent in that it prioritizes comfort over aesthetics. Not only does it support the organs, it also provides pain relief for vulvar varicose veins.
V2 Supporter: It’s the pelvic floor support garment designed for pregnant women. If you’ve been suffering from unbearable pain during your pregnancy, this may be the solution for you. It’s as compact and discreet as Hide-A-Way but has more coverage and support for women carrying a new life within their own bodies. Like some of their customers, maybe this is the pregnancy discomfort solution that will bring you to tears of joy the moment you open the package.
Femicushion: Femicushion is your pelvic organ prolapse solution if you cannot wear a vaginal pessary. It has a cushion that supports and pushes in the prolapsed organs, holders that absorb urine, and supporters (worn like underwear) that keeps the cushion steady, so you wouldn’t need to wear another device. This can be the all-in-one kit you’ll ever need for POP relief!
EVB Sport Female Pelvic Support Products: For the active woman who needs core support, EVB Sport thought of you. Their activewear line covers briefs, to shorts, to capri leggings, and even full leggings that will help compress and provide support to a woman’s core, while taking care of the pelvic areas. The elastic high-waist with compression uplift design holds the prolapse and prevents the feeling of your insides bouncing up and down.
Hence, these are not your regular yoga pants. These stylish pieces are where science meets sport, for a woman’s ultimate activewear comfort. Below are more EVB pelvic support options for you:
Support Pantyhose: For some women, wearing a support pantyhose provides sufficient core support. Some women testify that good quality ones do work and can hold everything in place. You can simply adjust this tight-fitting legwear to meet your needs. What’s more, you can cut the leg part off the hosiery or even the slits in the waistband to your comfort, to achieve your preferred tightness.
You should be cautious, though that when wearing the support pantyhose, too tight support can cause more harm than good. Too much pressure can, at times, cause more downward pressure and worsen the prolapse.
Takeaway
Living with a pelvic organ prolapse or a similar condition is not easy. It is a discomfort that may even come with pain. Aside from the idiosyncratic feeling of things “falling out,” there is also a range of discomfort and pain that no woman would wish to bear even for a day. Thus, there is just nothing quite like the relief of finding solutions to the condition. With the aforementioned pelvic floor support garments to help you “keep it all in,” hopefully, life goesright back to normal as soon as you slip into one of those.
When selecting among the various options, choose the perfect garment that will give you the right abdominal and pelvic support, and make you look and feel better. Talk to a trusted supplier or online seller, and get the right sizing, so you never have to worry about embarrassing and limiting incidents while you’re living the active life you deserve.