Are you starting to feel like there is something wrong with you? All your friends seem to be getting pregnant or having babies – in fact, EVERYONE seems to be pregnant these days – EXCEPT you! There are lots of tests, monitoring your temperature and having a baby seems to be getting more technologically involved everyday. You’re starting to feel you’re losing control over your own body.
If you’ve had all your tests and ‘nothing is wrong’ – great news – but why aren’t you pregnant? There could be many reasons that you’re not yet pregnant, despite the fact that all the tests were normal for you and your partner.
As a physical therapist, I look for the soft tissue and alignment issues that don’t show up on tests, but which may affect your ability to get pregnant and bring a baby to full term. You may already know that your skeletal and soft tissue alignment can affect the ability of your body to conceive and to maintain a pregnancy, but what you may not realize is that the ‘alignment’ and motion of your organs, especially the uterus, can play a pivotal role in a healthy pregnancy and birth.
Your organs do have a ‘rhythm’ or motility. This has been studied extensively in France by Jean-Pierre Barral in the modality called Visceral Manipulation (see www.barralinstitute.com). All the systems of your body rely on motion and are very inter-related via your connective tissue system (also called fascia). Fascia connects, supports binds and envelops everything in your body. You can actually trace many different fascial paths from head to feet – never leaving the fascial system! Your uterus is held in a gentle way by this fascial system which attaches and supports her in the pelvis. The uterus is not firmly attached to bone – but rather ‘floats’ within the pelvis with the support of this fascia/ligaments. As you might imagine, the uterus is very dependent on the proper alignment of the bone and muscles of the pelvis and lower extremities.
I distinctly remember Tonya (name changed) coming to see me, upset because she couldn’t get pregnant despite years of trying. She didn’t want to do anything invasive, so she was referred to me by a chiropractor. She was in great shape, working out five times per week, working full-time as a director in a highly stressful job and ate a great diet. She had, in the past, occasional back pain, but after seeing the chiropractic, it was usually resolved.
During her evaluation, I learned she was doing high impact aerobics (lots of downward momentum on the uterus) and had to stand a lot everyday (again more downward stress on her uterus). She also had many restrictions at her pelvis, low back and upper neck area. When trying to gently evaluate the fascia in the pelvis around the various organs, I noticed it was significantly restricted.
My treatment for Tonya included an evaluation, a home program and treatment of many different parts of her body. It focused specifically on the sacrum (the uterus actually attaches to the sacrum by a ligament) and fascia in her pelvis surrounding the various organs, especially the uterus. I noticed the motility of her organs had improved after just the first session.
To continue her healing, I taught her a massage called the Maya Abdominal Massage (MAM) for her to do at home. MAM addresses the soft tissue mobility, lymph and blood flow in the abdomen, pelvic area and lower extremities. It also empowers women to start not only massaging these areas, but to reconnect with their bodies. I advised her to change to a lower impact aerobic activity and gave her a visualization program to help reduce the effects of her stressful job requirements.
Tonya was seen two more times to treat her restrictions and be sure that she was doing the home program correctly. I didn’t hear from her until ten months later when I received a picture of her new baby girl in the mail!
If you’re frustrated and looking for a less invasive option to getting pregnant, call Unlimited Potentials at (508) 982-1100. All treatments are done fully clothed in a private, caring and professional session.
Sue Cotta is a physical therapist with over 30 years experience. She is passionate about helping people live the life they desire. Her practice is in Swansea, MA and treatment is by appointment only. She treats infants to elders using a variety of modalities ranging from typical physical therapy, Visceral Manipulation, CST, and Arvigo Massage Techniques.
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