Management of Vaginal Cones in the Treatment of Pelvic Floor Rehabilitation
Onandia Garate, M.; Luces Lago, A.M.ía.; Mosquera Pan, L.ía.; Tizón Bouza, E.
Revista de Enfermeria 38(7-8): 8-14
2015
ISSN/ISBN: 0210-5020 PMID: 26448994 Document Number: 682857
The pelvic floor (PF) is a sheet of muscles and other tissues that support the pelvic organs in their physiological positions. Throughout women's lives, these structures can become weak or be injured by events such as pregnancy, childbirth, surgery, overweight or constipation. PF dysfunction includes a group of disorders causing urinary incontinence, as well as genital prolapse or pelvic pain, and can significantly deteriorate women's quality of life. Vaginal cones (VC) represent a non-pharmacological, economical, safe and non-invasive method for the treatment of PF dysfunction; they allow the patient to increase the physiological consciousness of the musculature of the PF while promoting an increase in the muscle tone. The midwife, as a professional intimately connected with women's health care, works with the multidisciplinary team which treats pelvic dysfunctions; therefore, they need to provide updated information about the different methods for improving perineal function, including VC, and providing advice on their use and management, and establishing individualized exercise programs and tracking information for each case. The available scientific evidence on the effectiveness of the VC is limited and there may be other methods to treat PF dysfunctions.