Urogynecology Care
Improving the Quality of Your Life
Urinary stress incontinence and other pelvic floor disorders can severely
impact physical activities and enjoyment of life. Sadly, many women often
live with these uncomfortable and sometimes painful conditions for years
without realizing anything can be done. Or, they’re too embarrassed
to talk about them. The compassionate providers with BCH's Boulder
Women's Care can help restore pelvic function and improve your quality of life.
The pelvic floor is a complex group of muscles and tissue that form a “hammock”
across the pelvis. It keeps the uterus, bladder, bowel and other pelvic
organs in place. A range of issues can weaken or damage that hammock and
make one or more of the organs stop working properly — such as vaginal
childbirth, loss of estrogen from menopause, hysterectomy, chronic coughing
and frequent straining during bowel movements — leading to a pelvic
floor disorder.
Boulder Women's Care offers comprehensive services for managing pelvic
floor disorders, including diagnostic testing and a wide range of treatments.
Treatments include pessaries, biofeedback, bladder slings, medications
and minimally invasive surgical treatments, including minimally invasive
robotic-assisted surgery.
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Pelvic organ prolapse is a type of pelvic floor disorder that is a fact
of life for 1 in 3 women who have gone through childbirth, menopause or
a hysterectomy. A prolapse happens when the pelvis muscles and tissues
can no longer support pelvic organs, causing them to drop or press into
or out of the vagina.
The different types of pelvic organ prolapse depend on the pelvic organ
affected. The most common types include a dropped bladder (cystocele),
dropped rectum (retocele) and dropped uterus (uterine prolapse).
Pelvic organ prolapse can cause a bulge in the vagina that can sometimes
be felt or seen. Women with this condition may feel uncomfortable pressure
during physical activity or sex.
Other symptoms of pelvic organ prolapse include:
- Vaginal fullness or pressure
- Leaking urine or chronic urge to urinate
- Problems inserting tampons
- The feeling of sitting on a small ball
- Difficult and painful intercourse
- Low back or pelvic pain
- Constipation, straining or pain during bowel movements
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Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is the unintentional loss of urine during
sudden movement or physical activity such as laughing, sneezing or running.
It is the most common pelvic floor disorder.
Weakened muscles in the pelvis cause the bladder to drop down into a position
that prevents the urethra from closing completely. The result is urine leakage.
Pelvic organ prolapse is a common cause of SUI. However, it isn’t
the only one. Weakened muscles in the pelvic floor stemming from physical
changes to the body can also trigger a leaky bladder: pregnancy, obesity,
smoking and overuse of bladder irritants such as coffee, alcohol or carbonated
beverages.
If you suffer from symptoms of a pelvic floor disorder, schedule a consultation
with a urogynecologist at Boulder Women's Care by calling 303-441-0587.
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