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If I Don’t Address My Pelvic Organ Prolapse, Will It Get Worse?

Women's Clinic of the Rio Grande Valley Blog If I Don’t Address My Pelvic Organ Prolapse, Will It Get Worse?
If I Don’t Address My Pelvic Organ Prolapse, Will It Get Worse?

Among the many unique health challenges that women face throughout life, pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is a big one. By the numbers, POP affects about 40% of women worldwide, and this number is expected to rise as the population ages.

This is because POP is especially common in post-menopausal women. And if you consider that 2 million women enter menopause each year in the United States, you realize just how large a threat pelvic organ prolapse can be.

As experts in women’s health during every stage of life, board-certified OB/GYN Dr. Fernando Otero and the team at Women’s Clinic of the Rio Grande Valley have a good deal of experience helping women with pelvic organ prolapse. 

In the following, we discuss whether POP is progressive and what steps you should take next to protect your health and quality of life.

Pelvic organ prolapse basics

Your pelvis forms a large cavity that houses several different organs and systems, including your:

All of the organs involved in these systems are supported and held in place by a strong group of muscles and tissues called the pelvic floor. As the name suggests, your pelvic floor creates a strong foundation that keeps everything in position for optimal function.

With POP, this floor weakens, which can cause pelvic organs to shift downward and into and around your vaginal canal. Common types of prolapse include:

Of this list, cystocele is the most common form of pelvic organ prolapse.

Behind pelvic organ prolapse

Now let’s explore the primary causes of POP, which include:

We want to expand on the role of aging and menopause, as this combination accounts for a large share of POP cases.

When you pass through menopause, your estrogen levels drop considerably, and this decrease can lead to weaker pelvic floor tissues. When you combine this hormone-related weakness with simple aging, it can increase your risks for POP exponentially.

Is pelvic organ prolapse progressive?

The answer to the question we pose in the title of this blog about whether POP will worsen without treatment is tricky.

In mild cases of POP, women are often unaware that the condition even exists, and we only find it through routine examinations. When the POP is asymptomatic, the prolapse may remain unchanged.

That said, bear in mind that you’re still aging and your pelvic floor is aging, as well. So, a mild prolapse can get worse over time and lead to symptoms.

If you have symptomatic prolapse, such as urinary incontinence, it typically means that the prolapse is more significant and can benefit from treatment. In fact, POP can get to the point where tissue protrudes out of your vagina.

From our point of view, we believe that it’s always a good idea to take steps to strengthen your pelvic floor. Mild and even moderate cases of POP can be reversed and improved through therapies that include:

With severe cases of pelvic organ prolapse, Dr. Otero can repair your pelvic floor and the support of your pelvic organs, surgically.

Instead of letting POP reach that point, we highly recommend taking the preventive and maintenance steps outlined above. 

To figure out which of these steps would work best for you, we invite you to contact one of our offices in McAllen or Edinburg, Texas, to schedule a consultation.

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