Contrary to popular belief, pelvic floor dysfunction is not a rare occurrence. Issues can arise at any point during a woman’s life. While these issues usually aren’t life-threatening, they can have a debilitating effect on a woman’s quality of life. There are a few types of disorders. Here are the most common that affect women and their accompanying symptoms.

Urinary Incontinence Symptoms

Urinary incontinence is the most widespread pelvic floor disorder. It results in complete or partial loss of bladder control. When this occurs, the muscles that control the bladder valve weaken. Usually, the issue is that the pelvic floor muscles are unable to relax. Women may experience a loss of muscle coordination, preventing at-will urination and frequent accidents.

At first, symptoms can be as innocent as slight urine loss during a sneeze or cough. However, pelvic floor dysfunction can worsen and cause regular involuntary loss.

Symptoms of urinary incontinence can vary widely from one person to the next. However, they often include:

• A feeling of pressure on the bladder
• Frequent urination
• Difficulty urinating at will
• Accidents when laughing, coughing, or sneezing
• Urine loss or leakage
• Inability to empty bladder completely

RELATED: Urinary Incontinence Specialist in Los Angeles

Pelvic Organ Prolapse Symptoms

Pelvic organ prolapse is one of the more alarming forms of pelvic floor dysfunction. It occurs when the pelvic floor muscles and tissue weaken. The otherwise supportive sling can become thin or tear completely, resulting in the organs “falling” out of place.

Prolapse can cause significant discomfort for women. Not only that, but the standard function of the fallen organs become compromised. The organs can herniate into the vaginal wall, resulting in a visible bulge. It is a cystocele when the bladder herniates and a rectocele when the rectum herniates.

Some of the most common symptoms for this type of pelvic floor disorder include:

• Weighty feeling in the pubic area
• Dragging discomfort in the vagina
• Visible bulges in the vagina
• Pain or discomfort during sex
• Difficulty with urination or bowel movement

RELATED: Organ Prolapse Treatment in Los Angeles

Fecal Incontinence

Fecal incontinence is similar to urinary incontinence. The difference, however, is that this pelvic floor disorder involves a loss of bowel control. The pelvic floor muscles controlling the bowels and rectum do not perform efficiently, resulting in numerous problems.

Women can suffer from passive incontinence, which refers to the sudden passing of stool without any control. Or, they can suffer from urge-related incontinence. This form of pelvic floor dysfunction pertains to constant muscle contraction that prevents the passage of stool.

Fecal incontinence can affect women at any age. However, it’s most common in seniors and women recovering after childbirth. Some common symptoms include:

• Sudden accidents
• Periodic stool or mucus leakage
• Difficulty passing stool
• Chronic constipation
• Frequent bouts of diarrhea

Pelvic floor disorders can negatively impact your day-to-day life. But, they are highly treatable. Dr. Tahery is a practicing urogynecologist in Los Angeles. He can create a custom treatment plan to mitigate these disorders’ effects. Contact us today to schedule your consultation with Dr. Tahery, learn more about pelvic floor dysfunction, and address your symptoms once and for all.

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Significant damage to the musculature and connective tissues supporting the vaginal organs causes disruption in urination and bowel movement control. Women with urinary incontinence issues report urinary urgency and frequency, loss of urine on the way to the bathroom, difficulty emptying the bladder, urine loss with exercise or any type of straining, multiple trips for urination to the bathroom, constipation, and difficulty emptying the bowel or difficulty controlling gas or stool.

RELATED: Urinary Incontinence Treatment in Los Angeles

Damage to the supportive structures creates bulging of the bladder, uterus, and the rectum into the vagina and sometimes beyond the opening of the vagina. This bulging is mostly palpable when standing or straining. It is reduced when lying down. Sometimes women complain of lower back pain. In severe cases, women find that they have to manually push the prolapsed organ back inside the vagina in order to start or complete the evacuation.

The most common complaint besides the loss of control of urine (urinary incontinence) or stool is palpation of the bulge and the associated discomfort. Most patients restrict their activities in order to avoid leakage and odor and wetness associated with it. Also, some avoid intercourse due to the pain and discomfort as well as reduced sexual confidence due to the vaginal prolapse.

Atrophy of the vaginal tissue after menopause when ovaries no longer produce estrogen also causes further weakness. Dryness associated with lack of hormones and weakness in the supportive connective tissue contributes to further vaginal prolapse and irritability of the bladder and the vagina.

RELATED: Prolapse Treatment in Los Angeles

Dr. Tahery has been involved in many of the clinical studies instrumental in designing new and minimally invasive treatments for urinary incontinence and vaginal prolapse. The majority of the current procedures aims at restoring the vaginal structure and return function using the woman’s own tissues. In most cases, no visible incision is created and all the surgery is performed through the vaginal opening. If needed laparoscopic procedures can be performed to help those that are not good candidates for vaginal surgery. These procedures in most cases are outpatient with little downtime.

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