Are Your Struggling With Trying to Conceive? Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy May Be Able To Help!
Are you struggling or trying to conceive?
According to the CDC, within a year of trying, approximately 1 in 5 women struggle to conceive, and 1 in 4 have trouble carrying the pregnancy to term.1 Infertility in the United States is on the rise, and approximately 5 million women suffer from infertility.2
Common causes of female infertility:
• Blocked fallopian tubes
• Decreased ovarian function3
• Endometriosis
• Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
• Unexplained infertility
One of the primary causes of female infertility is pelvic adhesions.2 Adhesions can develop on, around, or within the ovaries, fallopian tubes, cervix, or uterine walls.2 Pelvic adhesions can occur from:
• Surgery
• Infection
• Trauma
• Endometriosis
• Pelvic inflammatory disease
• Polyps2
• Chronic abdominal pain2
• Pelvic spams2
Did you know pelvic floor physical therapy can help?
Pelvic floor physical therapy has been shown to increase conception rates in women struggling to conceive. Studies show that “manual physical therapy has been demonstrated to reverse female infertility attributed to occluded fallopian tubes, hormonal dysregulation, endometriosis, and unexplained infertility. . .”3.3
Pelvic floor physical therapy can provide a conservative and more natural approach to treatment. Applying manual therapy to the tissue can theoretically break up adhesions2, promoting more blood flow to the area, and minimizing dysfunction.
It is standard to wait between 6-12 months (depending on age) after having unprotected sex before intervention or testing can occur. However, with Pelvic Floor PT you can be evaluated and treated immediately! For those who need assisted reproductive technology such as IUI or IVF, Pelvic Floor PT can complement treatment and has been shown to increase success rates2.
If you want to learn more or are interested in our services book a discovery call today!
References
Infertility. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.govreproductivehealth/infertility/index.htm#:~:text=In%20the%20United%20States%2C%20among,to%20term%20(impaired%20fecundity). Published March 1, 2022.
Wurn BF, Wurn LJ, King CR, et al. Treating female infertility and improving IVF pregnancy rates with a manual physical therapy technique. MedGenMed. 2004;6(2):51. Published 2004 Jun 18.
Rice AD, Patterson K, Wakefield LB, et al. Ten-year Retrospective Study on the Efficacy of a Manual Physical Therapy to Treat Female Infertility [published online ahead of print, 2015 Feb 17]. Altern Ther Health Med. 2015;at5233.
