Prolapse & post-hysterectomy recovery
Nobody explained it to you. Let me start there.
Heaviness. Leaking. A core that no longer answers. Pressure at the end of the day. A body that changed after birth, surgery or menopause and was never properly looked at again. This page is the explanation you should have been given years ago — and the plan that follows it.
What to look out for
Signs your pelvic floor needs attention.
- Leaking when you cough, laugh, sneeze, run or lift
- Urgency, or needing to know where every toilet is
- Heaviness, dragging or a bulging sensation
- Pressure that worsens through the day or after exercise
- Pain or discomfort during intimacy
- A core that feels absent, weak or domed
- Lower back, hip or pelvic pain that keeps returning
- Feeling unable to trust your body with impact
Why it happens
None of it is your fault.
- Pregnancy and vaginal or assisted delivery
- Hysterectomy and other pelvic or abdominal surgery
- Menopause and falling oestrogen levels
- Chronic constipation, coughing or heavy lifting
- High-impact exercise without pelvic floor support
- Years of bracing, gripping and holding the breath
- Cancer treatment, scarring and reduced mobility
- Stress and a nervous system that never switches off
My specialist focus
Prolapse, post-hysterectomy recovery and pelvic floor dysfunction.
These are the symptoms and changes I focus on. Leaking, heaviness and a core that feels different after surgery can overlap, but they do not all call for the same exercise. Whether you’re postnatal, recovering from surgery, living with a tummy gap (diastasis) or navigating perimenopause, we look at your history, breath and movement first. Hormone changes may matter too, but they are one part of your picture — not the whole story.
Pelvic organ prolapse
We map your symptoms, manage intra-abdominal pressure and rebuild support from the hips, breath and deep core — so heaviness eases and you stop shrinking your life around it.
Post-hysterectomy recovery
Your core lost part of its scaffolding and your pelvic floor took on more work. We rebuild in the right order, respecting scar tissue and surgical menopause where it applies.
Pelvic floor dysfunction
Leaking, urgency or difficulty coordinating your pelvic floor deserve more than a generic exercise sheet. We work with breath, pressure and movement, and refer for internal assessment when appropriate.
The pathway
Hysterectomy rehab and prolapse recovery in four stages, at your pace.
Recovery isn't linear. We move stage by stage and only progress when your symptoms say you're ready.
Stage 1 · Assess
A full women's health and pelvic floor history, symptom mapping and movement assessment — plus referral to your GP or consultant where needed.
Why it matters: prolapse, post-surgical weakness and hormonal tissue change feel similar but need different approaches. Guessing is how women end up doing the wrong exercises for years. Knowing your root cause means every session counts.
Stage 2 · Restore
Breath, pressure management and pelvic floor reconnection — gentle, precise work that calms symptoms and switches your deep core back on.
Why it matters: when pressure bears down with every breath and lift, strength work can make heaviness worse. Restoring the diaphragm–pelvic floor rhythm takes load off the tissues first, so the next stage is safe.
Stage 3 · Rebuild
Graded clinical Pilates and strength: hips, glutes, back and true core loading, returning you to walking, lifting, running or riding.
Why it matters: your pelvic organs are supported by the muscles around them. After a hysterectomy or with prolapse, those muscles must take on more. Progressive loading builds that support — and the confidence to use it.
Stage 4 · Sustain
Long-term strength, bone health and nervous-system regulation so your progress holds through perimenopause, menopause and beyond.
Why it matters: falling oestrogen keeps changing muscle, bone and connective tissue. Without a plan, symptoms creep back. This stage protects what you've rebuilt, so you can live fully and worry-free for decades.
Common questions
Before you begin.
Can I exercise with a prolapse?
Often, yes — but what feels comfortable depends on your symptoms and clinical advice. We begin with your history and adjust pressure, load and movement around your response rather than giving everyone the same exercises.
Where do I start after a hysterectomy?
Start with the guidance from your surgical team and the stage of healing you are in. Once cleared to exercise, we can assess your breath, core and movement and build strength gradually; where an internal assessment would help, I can carry one out myself.
Do you do an internal pelvic floor examination?
Yes, where it's clinically useful. An internal assessment gives a precise picture of muscle tone, strength and any prolapse grading, and the findings shape your programme from the very first session. It's always your choice — we'll talk it through before anything happens.
Why hasn't the standard advice worked for me?
DRAFT: Most women are handed a generic exercise sheet and sent away. Your pelvic floor doesn't work in isolation — it works with your breath, your deep core and the way you move through the day. When we treat it as part of that system, the exercises finally start to do their job. [Adele: replace this with your own wording.]
What makes your approach different?
DRAFT: I'm a registered nurse with over 25 years of clinical experience, as well as a clinical Pilates teacher. That means we look at your whole history — surgery, births, hormones, stress — not just the symptom, and we build strength in the order your body actually needs. [Adele: replace this with your own wording.]
And a consultation isn't a sales conversation. It's 45 minutes where someone finally listens to the whole story — and you leave knowing what your body needs next, whatever you decide.
Internal assessment
Do you need an internal pelvic health assessment?
Sometimes the clearest picture comes from a closer look. Where it's clinically useful, I can carry out an internal pelvic floor assessment myself — giving us a precise read on muscle tone, strength and any prolapse grading, right at the start of your work with me.
How we work together
- I assess your movement, breath, core and symptoms in detail
- Where an internal assessment would help, I carry it out myself
- Your findings shape your programme from the very first session
- You get clinical care and long-term strength — not one or the other
A client’s experience
“I initially came to Adele to improve my pelvic floor, but I've gained so much more than I expected. She's shown me that building strength goes far beyond Kegels. I've come away not only stronger, but much more informed and confident too. I always feel in safe hands.”
JP · One year+ together · postnatal pelvic floor & continence
You've managed this alone for long enough.
One private, confidential conversation (£127 · 45 minutes) is often the moment everything starts to make sense.