Have you been trying to conceive or are about to start trying? Did you know that treatment by a specially trained physical therapist may help you conceive? Dr. Julianne has received this training and can help you improve fertility and hopefully help you conceive!
What is normal fertility? Normal fertility has 30% of couples conceiving in the first month, 75% conceiving in 6 months or more, 90% in 1 year or more, and 95% in 2 years or more.(1) What happens if you have been trying and you’re still not pregnant? You may be experiencing infertility.
What is infertility? Infertility, or the inability to conceive with 12 months of trying, impacts a lot of people trying to conceive. 6% of couples aged 15-55 are unable to conceive (2). The risk of infertility increases with age, with those aged 19-26 experiencing 8% infertility, aged 27-34 experiencing 13-14% infertility, and those aged 35-19 experiencing 18% infertility. (3) The risk of infertility increases with age and impacts up to 18% of those trying to conceive. (3)
Why does infertility happen? There are several causes of infertility, though 10-20% of infertility is unexplained. The rest are caused by ovulatory failure (27%), tubal damage (14%), endometriosis (5%), low sperm count or quality (19%), and other causes (5%) (4). If you have been tested and don’t have any of the above, your tubes are open, you are timing intercourse with ovulation, you don’t have endo, and have sufficient sperm count, you may fall into the unexplained infertility category which impacts 10-20% of those trying to conceive. (4)
What causes unexplained fertility? One of the causes of unexplained infertility is mechanical infertility. In mechanical infertility, something mechanical blocks passage and does not allow the union of sperm and egg. This can happen following surgery, injury to the pelvis, or scarring due to endometriosis. Uterine malposition can also contribute to mechanical infertility. This can cause tension in the pelvic fascia (the connective tissue that supports your organs). The sperm must travel through very small structures to meet an egg, such as the < 1 mm in diameter opening of the uterine (fallopian) tubes (5). An increased or abnormal tug in that fascia, can cause kinking and keep sperm from entering the tube! Normalizing the tension in the pelvis may reduce the tug make it easier for an egg and sperm to pass through. Treating mechanical infertility may improve your ability to conceive! (6)
How do you treat mechanical infertility? Dr. Julianne Simpson, PT, DPT of Circle Physical Therapy has completed the fascial and visceral mobilization course series from the Herman and Wallace Pelvic Rehabilitation Institute. She treats mechanical infertility with visceral mobilization focusing on normalizing tension in the pelvic fascia, This treatment may help increase blood flow to your pelvic organs, improve mobility of pelvic organs, and reduce restrictions in uterine tubes and around ovaries. Improved mobility may help make it easier for sperm and egg to meet and for a fertilized egg to pass into the uterus. Julianne’s treatment of mechanical infertility also also improves lymph drainage. Lymph, your body’s clean up fluid, can accumulate in your tissues outside of blood circulation vessels. Lymphatic vessels help collect this fluid and return it to circulation, however blocked lymph vessels can prevent its return to the circulatory system. This can cause lymphatic congestion, which puts extra pressure on your pelvic organs, and may also be a contributor to mechanical internality. Julianne’s treatment of both facial/ visceral restriction and lymphatic congestion can help reduce mechanical infertility and hopefully help you get pregnant naturally, via intrauterine insemination (IUI) or via in vitro fertilization (IVF).
What evidence supports physical therapy for infertility? A study by Kramp in 2012 applies the backbone of Circle Physical Therapy’s infertility protocol in a case study of 10 women. (6) In this study, 10 infertile women received 1-6 sessions of manual physical therapy. 6 of 10 conceived within 3 months post-treatment. The study participants had been trying to conceive for 1-7 years. One who had been trying for 3 years conceived after 6 sessions. Another who had been trying for 7 years conceived after 2 sessions. If you remember, normal fertility has 75% conceiving in 6 months. This treatment got its participants to 60% fertility in only 3 months. That’s pretty good for a very low risk and minimally invasive treatment! Let Julianne apply these same techniques to you and help you conceive.
Ready to learn more? Read our Fertility Scheduling and Pricing pages.
References:
- Taylor A. ABC of subfertility: extent of the problem. BMJ. 2003;327(7412):434-436. doi:10.1136/bmj.327.7412.434
- https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/infertility/index.htm. Accessed 11/18/2021
- Dunson DB, Baird DD, Colombo B. Increased infertility with age in men and women. Obstet Gynecol. 2004 Jan;103(1):51-6. doi: 10.1097/01.AOG.0000100153.24061.45. PMID: 14704244.
- Bhattacharya S, Johnson N, Tijani HA, Hart R, Pandey S, Gibreel AF. Female infertility. BMJ Clin Evid. 2010;2010:0819. Published 2010 Nov 11.
- https://www.glowm.com/section-view/heading/Clinical+Anatomy+of+the+Uterus,+Fallopian+Tubes,+and+Ovaries/item/1#.YXHqNC-B1QI. Accessed 11/18/2021
- Kramp ME. Combined manual therapy techniques for the treatment of women with infertility: a case series. J Am Osteopath Assoc. 2012 Oct;112(10):680-4. PMID: 23055467.
Other reading:
https://www.hermanwallace.com/blog/manual-physical-therapy-can-help-reverse-female-infertility