A falling pound stops professional recess (8)

I believe the answer is:

prolapse

'a falling' is the definition.
(a body part falling or slipping down)

'pound stops professional recess' is the wordplay.
'pound' becomes 'L' (the pound sign is based on an L).
'stops' is an insertion indicator.
'professional' becomes 'pro' (synonyms).
'recess' becomes 'apse' (apse is a kind of recess).
'pro'+'apse'='proapse'
'l' going inside 'proapse' is 'PROLAPSE'.

(Another definition for prolapse that I've seen is " falling down from a doctor's point of view".)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.

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