Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2025 Jan;36(1):59-69.
doi: 10.1007/s00192-024-05992-0. Epub 2024 Nov 19.

Impact of Lifestyle Modifications on the Prevention and Treatment of Pelvic Organ Prolapse

Peter C Jeppson  1 , Sunil Balgobin  2 , Tom Wheeler  3 , Lori Forner  4 , Delena Caagbay  5 , Jennifer Thompson  6 , Tyler M Muffly  7 , Isuzu Meyer  8 , Molly Beestrum  9 , Sarah Collins  9 , Vivian Sung  10
Affiliations
Review

Impact of Lifestyle Modifications on the Prevention and Treatment of Pelvic Organ Prolapse

Peter C Jeppson et al. Int Urogynecol J. 2025 Jan.

Abstract

Introduction and hypothesis: This manuscript is a part of the International Urogynecology Consultation (IUC) on pelvic organ prolapse (POP) chapter three, committee three, on the impact of lifestyle modifications (i.e., weight loss, treatment of constipation, activity restriction, etc.) on the prevention and treatment of POP.

Materials and methods: An international group containing ten female pelvic medicine specialists and one university-based medical librarian performed a systematic search of the literature in Medline using the MeSH terms: pelvic organ prolapse (ID: D056887), cystocele (ID: D052858), uterine prolapse (ID: D014596), rectocele (ID: D020047), and women (ID: D014930) to identify studies addressing lifestyle modifications as prevention or treatment for POP on 10/18/21. Relevant studies were included in this review.

Results: A total of 18,483 studies were identified in the initial literature search; 187 full-text articles were deemed pertinent and independently reviewed and double-screened by ten reviewers. After full-text review, information from 86 articles was included in this review.

Conclusion: Women may consider various lifestyle modifications to help prevent and treat POP, even if it is challenging to quantify the efficacy of these interventions.

Keywords: Activity level; Lifestyle modifications; Modifiable; Pelvic organ prolapse; Prevention; Review article; Treatment.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Conflicts of Interest: Molly Beestrum, MLIS: No relevant disclosures. Sunil Balgobin, MD: No relevant disclosures. Delena Caagbay, MS Physiotherapy, MPH, Ph.D.: No relevant disclosures. Sarah Collins MD: Consultant to Ethicon regarding mesh litigation and product liability, content expert for MCG Health. Lori Forner, BScH, MPhtySt, Ph.D. Candidate: none. Peter Jeppson, MD: No relevant disclosures. Isuzu Meyer, MD, MSPH: No relevant disclosures. Tyler M. Muffly, MD: No relevant disclosures. Vivian Sung, MD, MPH: No relevant disclosures. Jennifer Thompson, MD: No relevant disclosures. Tom Wheeler, MD: No relevant disclosures.

References

    1. Digesu A, Swift S. The International Urogynaecology Consultation: the new IUGA educational project. Int Urogynecol J. 2021;32:2309–10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-021-04947-z . - DOI - PubMed
    1. Collins SA, O’Shea M, Dykes N, et al. International Urogynecological Consultation: clinical definition of pelvic organ prolapse. Int Urogynecol J. 2021;32:2011–9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-021-04875-y . - DOI - PubMed
    1. Beck RP, McCormick S, Nordstrom L. A 25-year experience with 519 anterior colporrhaphy procedures. Obstet Gynecol. 1991;78:1011–8. - PubMed
    1. Brown HW, Hegde A, Huebner M, et al. International urogynecology consultation chapter 1 committee 2: Epidemiology of pelvic organ prolapse: prevalence, incidence, natural history, and service needs. Int Urogynecol J. 2022;33:173–87. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-021-05018-z . - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hagen S, Stark D. Conservative prevention and management of pelvic organ prolapse in women. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2011;CD003882. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD003882.pub4 .

LinkOut - more resources