Muscle-healing gel could be a 'new frontier' for treating pelvic floor damage, very early study suggests

Injuries associated with vaginal childbirth can often lead to pelvic floor disorders, which have limited treatment options. (Image credit: Shutterstock )

A new injectable gel could help mend people's pelvic floors if they've suffered damage during childbirth, an early study in rats and human tissue finds. 

According to Suzanne Hagen, a professor of health services research at Glasgow Caledonian University who was not involved in the study, current treatment options for pelvic floor disorders are "limited," and include pelvic floor muscle exercises and surgery. Currently, no treatments directly address the scarring or wasting of the pelvic floor muscles after birth, as the new gel potentially could. In an email to Live Science, Hagen said "the prospect of having a product that can benefit women more directly is exciting."