How To Modify Unsafe Core Exercises For Women With Prolapse

Some intense ‘unsafe’ core exercises can potentially weaken pelvic floor tissues that provide natural prolapse support.

While it’s important to have good core strength, unfortunately, some intense abdominal core exercises can overload the pelvic floor, especially in women with weak pelvic floor muscles.

If you’re living with a prolapse or after prolapse surgery it’s helpful to know how to manage the load your exercises and activities place on your pelvic floor. This helps you protect the your pelvic floor and helps you know how to avoid and modify unecessary risks.

Read to know potentially unsafe intense core exercises that may pose a risk to some women with prolapse problems.

This information supports your regular exercise routine by helping you make informed decisions about the abdominal core exercises your choose, and those you prefer to modify or avoid for your pelvic floor health including:

• Mat core exercises 
• Equipment-based core exercises 
• Machine-based core exercises 

Potentially Unsafe Intense Abdominal Exercises To Modify

Exercise is great for your health and wellbeing, including appropate strength and core exercises for women living with prolapse problems.

Unfortunately, some of the more intense abdominal exercises can weaken the pelvic floor supports, potentially increasing the risk of prolapse problems for some women.

When repeated over time, these types of intense abdominal exercises can progressively stretch and weaken the pelvic floor tissues including muscles and supporting ligaments. Prolapse problems can worsen when the pelvic floor supports are weak. Some women report worsening prolapse symptoms associated with intense core abdominal exercises.

Many women with prolapse problems can modify intense core exercises or choose alternative pelvic floor friendly core abdominal exercises so they can continue exercising for their health and wellbeing.

The following core exercises are more intense abdominal exercises you may choose to modify or avoid after prolapse surgery unless advised otherwise by your surgeon or Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist.

1. Intense Core Exercises – Mat

• Crunches or sit-ups: lying down head and shoulders raised forwards off mat
• Double leg raises*: lying down both legs raised simultaneously (modify to single leg raise)
• Bicycle legs: lying down both legs raised, legs cycle in air
• Scissor legs: lying down both legs raised, straight legs criss-cross above the ground
• Plank or Hover*: prone weight through forearms/hands and feet (modify Plank to kneeling and decrease time maintained)
• Dead bugs*: lying down both knees bent and legs raised, arms extended towards ceiling- single leg then extends towards ground (modify this unsafe Pilates core exercise to single leg raise and single leg extended)
• Reverse crunches: lying down both legs raised towards ceiling- buttocks are then raised off mat
• Medicine ball sit ups: sit up exercise holding medicine ball to chest
• Seated knee tucks: sitting with both legs raised and knees bent- legs then extend away from body
• Men’s push ups: prone weight through hands and feet as body lifts and lowers from mat
• V sit: unsafe Yoga core exercise seated on mat with both straight legs raised and trunk leaning backwards
• The Hundred: lying with both legs raised with hips and knees at right angles, head and shoulder blades raise forwards off the mat

* May be modified by some women with prolapse to reduce pelvic floor loading

2. Intense Core Exercises – Equipment

• Weighted hula hoop
• Russian twists: recline sit up position with medicine ball rotated across the body
• Exercise ball crunches: crunches lying back over the ball
• Exercise ball pull in: prone push up position with ball under shins, knees then tuck to roll ball towards body
• Exercise ball hover: leaning forward on ball with forearms resting on ball in kneeling or on balls of feet
• Double leg ball raises: lying down ball between legs, raise and lower ball
• Ab roller: ab roller frame supports body for abdominal crunch
• Ab wheel: wheel with handles supports body weight as it is rolled to and from body
• Sit up bench: bench supports body for crunches
• Hanging leg or knee raise: hanging via arms as both knees or straight legs are raised and lowered

3. Intense Core Exercises – Machine

• Ab crunch machine: seated resisted incline forwards
• Cable crunch: weighted cables provide resistance for seated or kneeling crunches
• Captains chair: frame supports upper body with body suspended and knees raised to chest

Key Points Safe Core Exercises For Prolapse

Some intense core abdominal exercises can weaken the pelvic floor. If you’re living with prolapse problems it’s important to know how to choose pelvic floor friendly core exercises and know how to modify (or avoid) intense abdominal exercises that may pose a risk to your pelvic floor. supports.

Keeping your core muscles in good shape can help you manage your pelvic floor and prolapse problems.

Choose appropriate deep abdominal core exercises for your body and try to modify or avoid potentially unsafe core exercises to minimise the risk to your prolapse and ensure your best possible pelvic floor support.

Where To Next: Pelvic Floor Safe Core Exercises (Video)