Pessary – The Vaginal Orthotic

September 26, 2017

Prolapse is the descent of an organ through its own canal.  Statistics of prolapse have demonstrated that up to 50% of women will have some degree of prolapse in their life time and that it can even affect women who have not had any children.

Just as when we have collapse of the arch of the foot and use an orthotic support in the shoe, pessaries can be used for support when there is collapse of the vaginal region.  Pessaries are removable medical devices that support organs and can reduce stress urinary incontinence.

I find that many of my patients are frightened by the idea of a pessary.  The fact is that they can be a wonderful short or long term option in order to delay or avoid surgery.

Keep these principles in mind:
1. A properly fit pessary should be comfortable
2. They can often can be removed by the person themselves
3. Some types allow intercourse with them inserted
4. They can reduce bowel and bladder dysfunction and pelvic pain by supporting the vaginal walls
5. They should be re evaluated with a gain or loss of 20# weight
6. There are many different types with all different purposes such as: ring, oval, shaatz, gellhorn stem, gehrung arch, hodge, donuts, dish, cube and even inflatable ones.

In conjunction with pelvic floor physical therapy, pessaries provide symptom relief as well as preventing worsening symptoms.  Pelvic floor therapy is much more than just learning to do a kegel properly as there are many factors that contribute to prolapse.  Schedule an evaluation with your local pelvic floor PT today to learn how you can improve prolapse symptoms and even be preventative to this ever prevalent condition.  Likely, you do not need to see your family doctor first because many states do not require a doctor’s script to see a physical therapist.