Effects of the Hypopressive Exercises in Women With Pelvic Organ Prolapse

PFMT consisted of both slow voluntary contractions lasting 15 seconds each (5-s contraction, 5-s hold and 5-s relaxation) and fast voluntary contractions lasting 2-s each. A set of exercises included 10 slow and 10 fast voluntary contractions. During the first week, women performed five sets of exercises a day, and the exercises were continued for eight weeks by increasing five sets each week. The exercises were performed as home exercises.

"HE program in which different placements of the upper and lower extremities were used in standing, sitting and supine positions, and the participants were asked to perform the exercises with a hypopressive maneuver to maintain apnea and rib cage expansion for approximately 10 seconds. Exercises were started with three repetitions a day, and then the number of repetitions was increased to five and/or 10, depending on the participant's tolerance. The exercises were performed as home exercises."