Why does coughing and lifting cause bulging of the bladder or rectum?
The vagina, bladder and rectum are supported by a series of ligaments and muscles that prevent sagging when a person coughs or lifts something heavy. Child birth, smoking, loss of collagen with aging, and previous pelvic surgery, especially a hysterectomy, undermines the support system. Sagging of this muscle-ligament support structure doesnt necessarily mean a woman needs surgical repair, but if her condition worsens, affecting her ability to urinate, for example, or to have normal bowel movements, its a condition that requires expert evaluation and may require surgical intervention. In the worst case scenario, some women experience the unpleasant event when the sagging gives way and everything drops and bulges out of the vagina.
