Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POP) is defined as the descent of one or more vaginal walls and/or the vaginal apex. Symptoms range from a sensation of a “ball/bulge” in the vaginal region to a sensation of heaviness, burning, and pain. Due to its etiology, POP is almost always accompanied by urinary and sexual symptoms, generating negative repercussions on Quality of Life (QoL).

To verify vaginal and urinary symptoms, the function of the Pelvic Floor Muscles (PFM), and the impact on the QoL of women with POP, in addition to comparing the impact between the stages of POP.

This is a cross-sectional study, in which data were collected between 2021 to 2024, and the sample consisted of women aged 18 or over diagnosed with POP. Urological data were collected; a physical examination was performed through the assessment of PFM and the Pelvic Floor Impact Questionnaire (PFIQ-7) instrument was applied. This instrument has 3 subscales that seek to assess urinary, bowel and vaginal symptoms. In the present study, we used only the vaginal symptoms subscale, with a score from 0 to 100. The descriptive analysis was presented through mean and standard deviation for quantitative variables, and absolute and relative frequencies for qualitative variables. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare the PFIQ-7 means between the stages of POP (significance level of 5%).

Of the 88 women collected, 21 had POP as the main complaint, with a mean age of 55.9 years. The most frequently identified urinary symptoms in bladder storage were nocturia 76.2% (n = 16), urgency 76.2% (n = 16) and loss on exertion 71.4% (n = 15). Regarding voiding symptoms, we identified a sensation of incomplete voiding 50% (n = 10), hesitation 35% (n = 7) and post-void dripping 45% (n = 9). In the physical examination, 85% used accessory muscles at the time of contraction (n = 17), with the glutes being the most used 94.1% (n = 16), 81% had a strength deficit and 70% had hyperactive MAP. In the evaluation of POP, anterior vaginal wall prolapse was the most recurrent with 89.5% (n = 17), with stage 2 being the most common, with 52.6% (n = 10), and apical prolapse being the least common, with 6.7% (n = 1). In the PFIQ-7, the activities that were most affected were physical activities, with 20% (n = 4), and entertainment activities, with 28.6% (n = 6). The mean for stage 2 was 29.6 (SD ± 30.3) points, for stage 3 it was 30.5 (SD ± 31.7) points, and for stage 4 it was 52.4 (SD ± 13.5) points, with no significant difference between the POP stages (p = 0.57).

It is possible to observe that women with prolapse have a high frequency of urinary symptoms, deficiencies in PFM functions, and impact on their activities of daily living.

The data reinforces the importance of a detailed physiotherapeutic assessment focusing not only on the physical aspect, but also on an analysis of what this complaint generates in QoL.