Is weight lifting bad for pelvic organ prolapse?
Wheeeeew, friends. This is a big, loaded topic. Chances are if you have been diagnosed with pelvic organ prolapse, you’ve been given a whole list of do’s and don’t ever do’s.
Here’s a list, that is by no means comprehensive, of things clients and people I’ve spoken with have been told about life with prolapse:
Lift properly always- meaning never round your back or have “bad posture”
Avoid weight lifting
Don’t squat
Don’t hold your breath while doing anything
Keep your legs close together when exercising
Don’t do crunches, sit ups, or planks ever again
Do all weighted exercises seated
Always tighten your pelvic floor before lifting anything
Avoid running, jumping, and aerobics
Only do swimming, yoga, or pilates
Does this list stress you out? Because it certainly stresses me out.
But I’m here to tell you that this list… is bullshit. It’s a one-size-fits-all for a diagnosis that is everything BUT that. What if squatting feels fine? What if tightening your pelvic floor and keeping your legs close while picking up your kid actually exacerbates symptoms? What if you actually hate swimming, yoga, and pilates and want to be able to run, lift, and jump? What if you have a kid who requires lifting- like a baby, toddler, or a child with disabilities?
What if you just want to live a normal life without stressing out all the time that you’re ruining your body with everything you do?
In this blog, and since weight lifting seems to be one of the most divisive topics when it comes to prolapse, I’m going to talk about how lifting weights can actually help support your pelvic floor and manage your POP symptoms to boot.
The pelvic floor is dynamic
First things first, the pelvic floor is dynamic. That means that kegels and pelvic floor muscle exercises can only go so far because the pelvic floor is actually more like a trampoline that holds organs in- so it responds to not only tightening but also pressure, tension, and impact.
Plus, I can guarantee you life doesn’t look like isolated pelvic floor muscle contractions. It requires you to bend, lift, and carry things like groceries, strollers, small people, bags of dog food, etc.
Life requires strength. It requires us to learn how to manage symptoms during daily life activity and strength helps with those demands. If you want to learn more about how to start managing your pelvic organ prolapse symptoms, sign up to grab my free guide with 3 tips that help my clients feel less symptomatic day to day here.
Now, I’m not saying that pelvic floor muscle training ISN’T important in terms of managing POP, but if you’ve hit a wall or you are wanting to lift weights again to feel more confident and capable in your body- let’s try strength training.
Lifting weights can actually help you manage prolapse
Yep, you read it right. Like I said above, life and weight lifting have a lot in common. Squats, carries, lunges, and other movements you do in a typical lifting session carry over into real life ALL the time. And here’s the thing, having a controlled place and time to work on these things/ manage pressure during them, and find strategies that help reduce symptoms with weights can help tremendously when you are carrying your sick 45 pound 6-year old to bed because they can’t walk.
Not only that, but you’re stronger and more confident in your body so carrying that sick kiddo won’t feel as hard.
AND, strength training is one of the most adaptable forms of exercises out there. Really. You have the ability to control weights, positions, postures, breathing, tension, exercise choice, range of motion, intensity, and rest. There’s so much you can modify and so many exercises to choose from that can help you reach your individual goals in a way that feels amazing for your body. Don’t know how to do that yourself? Finding a coach or trainer who is knowledgeable in working with women with POP can be a huge game changer.
Lifting weights can teach you more about HOW to manage your symptoms during every day life and help you feel safer and more confident in your body.
You feeling strong and capable in your body, POP or no POP, is important AF
That last sentence brings me to this point, one of the most important things I could ever say to anyone, myself included. I have been in a place where I didn’t trust my body. I didn’t feel safe or confident in it. I didn’t feel capable of doing the things I needed to do because of pain or symptoms.
So many of my clients start in the same place. They feel like their body is foreign, like they are speaking to their body through a loud speaker and everything is getting lost in translation. They feel frustrated, confused, overwhelmed, like they can’t trust themselves to do anything that doesn’t cause symptoms.
You feeling capable and strong in your body is so so so important. You are worthy of feeling like you can chase after your kid who is running straight for the street or pick up your crying toddler or carry your hurt big kid to the car without breaking or feeling symptomatic for days.
Lifting weights, exercise, activity, can help you feel capable and strong in your body. The rules I stated above, often don’t make you feel that way. And I want you to know that you are so much more able than you think you are. Your prolapse doesn’t define who you are and what you’re capable of doing.
If you need help feeling that way, let’s chat. I have so many options to help you get to where you want to be and to help you feel connected to your body again- head over to the services tab up top to check out how to work with me in a way that suits your needs or you can always contact me to chat directly about what would work for you. My inbox is always open.