If you have blocked fallopian tubes or other fertility challenges, a recent study shows manual physical therapy may be a good choice to explore before trying more invasive approaches like surgery or medical fertility treatments.
The study: Ten-year Retrospective Study on the Efficacy of a Manual Physical Therapy to Treat Female Infertility (Alternative Therapies, 2015)
Results: The study tracked 1,392 women with various fertility challenges who received manual physical therapy, Clear Passage Approach & WURN Technique, to promote reproductive function. The study found treatment produced an astounding 60.85% rate of clearing blocked fallopian tubes, and a 56.64% pregnancy rate in those women!
Manual physical therapy also showed significant results for women with hydrosalpinx (a type of fallopian tube blockage), for achieving pregnancy with endometriosis, high FSH levels, PCOS and for women undergoing IVF treatments.
What is Manual Physical Therapy?
Manual physical therapy is used by osteopaths, chiropractors, and physical therapists all over the world with good results for pain disorders, injuries, pelvic floor dysfunction, back pain, frozen shoulder syndrome and much more. I have used it myself with excellent results for injury recovery.
Today, we know manual physical therapy can also treat infertility! It’s a drug-free, “hands-on” approach to restore the body’s normal reproductive processes. Manual physical therapists use techniques like kneading and manipulation of muscles and soft tissues, assisted movements, and relaxation therapies.
How does Manual Physical Therapy Work for Fertility Problems?
Manual physical therapy uses pelvic massage to encourage optimal reproductive organ function and fertility. An experienced manual physical therapist is trained to find adhesions (internal scar tissue) that cause reproductive blockages and contribute to hormone imbalance. He or she uses pelvic massage to help break up scar tissue and encourage the healing process. This approach is normally well tolerated, may feel like a deep massage, or very light bodywork depending on your challenge.
Manual Physical Therapy for Blocked Tubes
In this study, manual physical therapy with The Clear Passage Approach and the WURN Technique produced an overall 60.85% success rate. Taking a closer look at the literature and cases available on blocked tubes, this result is equivalent to or better than surgical approaches!
For women with no history of surgery, manual physical therapy opened blocked tubes for 68.9% of patients. For women with previous history of surgery to unblock the tubes, the therapy was effective for 34.5% of patients. (This is believed to lower because the surgery itself can cause adhesions and damage.) The rate of success for hydrosalpinx was 44.8%.
Is Manual Physical Therapy Right for You?
The results are very promising, but I encourage you to do some research and make your own decision. From my viewpoint, manual physical therapy is one of the best bodywork options for women with blocked fallopian tubes who are not good candidates for surgery, who have many reproductive adhesions, or who are at risk for developing post-surgery adhesions.
If you’re interested in trying manual physical therapy, share your fertility history with a therapist trained in this approach. Clear Passage Physical Therapy offers consultations and can help determine whether manual physical therapy is right for you.
- Manual Therapy Techniques. (2018). Guide To Physical Therapist Practice. Retrieved from: http://guidetoptpractice.apta.org/content/1/SEC38.extract
- Rice, A. et al. (2015, May/June). Ten-year Retrospective Study on the Efficacy of a Manual Physical Therapy to Treat Female Infertility. Alternative Therapies. Retrieved from: http://alternative-therapies.com/openaccess/ATHM_23_3_Rice.pdf
- Treating Chronic Pain, Obstructions and Infertility Naturally. (2018). Clear Passage. Retrieved from: http://www.clearpassage.com/
- What are Adhesions? (2018). Clear Passage. Retrieved from: http://www.clearpassage.com/adhesions-and-scar-tissue/
