What are uterine fibroids?
Uterine fibroids, also called leiomyomas, are non-cancerous, firm, rubbery growths in and or outside the uterus that appears during the childbearing years. The presence of these growths in a woman’s uterus is not indicative of her future cancer risk and almost never progresses into cancer.
Uterine fibroids come in various sizes, types, growth patterns and number.
Size – they can range from as small as seedlings that are not even perceptible by the human eye to large masses that can distort or even enlarge the uterus. There is even an extreme case noted that the uterine fibroids reached up to the rib cage.
Types – uterine fibroids are classified according to where in the uterus they are located. Intramural if they are within uterine wall, submucosal if they are within the uterine cavity and subserosal if they are positioned outside the uterine wall.
Growth pattern – uterine fibroids can grow rapidly in size or number, remain the same or even go away or shrink on its own.
Number – leiomyomas can be single or multiple
Uterine fibroids appear commonly in women without them knowing about it as they are often asymptomatic and often without any real health risks entailed. They are only usually discovered through routine or prenatal pelvic exams and ultrasounds.
Can uterine fibroids cause hormonal imbalance?
But why do these uterine fibroids appear in the first place?
Studies show that they can be caused by genetics and even a person’s race but the leading and most prominent cause identified is because of the hormones estrogen and progesterone.
As mentioned earlier, uterine fibroids can appear in a woman’s uterus during the childbearing years. A process unique to the woman’s childbearing years that is not present during childhood and post-menopausal stage is the cyclic thickening of the lining of the uterus in preparation for pregnancy. This thickening of the uterus’ lining is triggered by the hormones estrogen and progesterone.
Now, normal uterine muscle cells have the correct number of estrogen and progesterone receptors to promote proper thickness of the uterine lining. However, some uterine cells may have higher estrogen and progesterone receptors causing them to thicken or lump thus forming fibroids.
These fibroids, since they are triggered to appear because of estrogen and progesterone, can then have a tendency to proliferate during pregnancy where the hormones continually rises then shrink after pregnancy or during menopause.
Having established this nature of uterine fibroids, we can safely safe that they do not cause hormonal imbalances per se but are actually a product of the interaction of hormone levels in the body and uterine muscle cells.
What body system is affected by uterine leiomyomas?
While we have established that uterine leiomyomas are generally asymptomatic and generally do not pose health and pregnancy risks, there are cases wherein they can harm a few bodily systems depending on their size, location and number.
Reproductive system –
If a submucosal or intramural uterine fibroid becomes too big and/ or plenty, they can make the uterus a hostile environment for a developing embryo to latch firmly causing miscarriage or infertility.
Excretory and digestive systems –
As for a subserosal leiomyoma, if they also become too big, they can also put pressure on the bladder and rectum causing frequent and/ or difficult urination and constipation.
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