Infertility is a complex phenomena, and there are several types.  Some forms of infertility are hormonal, which need to be managed by a reproductive endocrinologist.  However, some infertility is mechanical.  This means the egg is not  moving well through the tube or another issue with the sperm meeting the egg.

In a recent  publication in the journal of the American Osteopathic Association 10 infertile women were treated with 1 to 6 sessions of manual therapy applied to the pelvic region by a physical therapist. Techniques included muscle energy, lymphatic drainage, and visceral mobilization. Six of the 10 women conceived within 3 months of the last treatment session, and all 6 of those women delivered at full term.

In other research, it was discovered that with the application of  manual therapy , fallopian tube patency of at least one fallopian tube was 60.8% successful, as well as or at higher rates of success than surgery did.” The rate of pregnancy for those patients with at least 1 open fallopian tube was also very successful with an overall pregnancy rate of 56.64% post treatment.  In other research,  manual physical therapy has been shown to reverse female infertility in cases such as occluded fallopian tubes, endometriosis, hormone dysregulation, and PCOS

There are some programs nationwide to clear the passageway in the fallopian tubes, which are a 20 hour a week protocol.

Nari finds the body responds to much less intensive therapy and is using several of the techniques in  protocol under research right now, the MISS (Mechanical Infertility Systematic Study: a Randomized Multicenter Trial of Manual Therapy Interventions for Females with Somatic Pelvic Dysfunction and Infertility).  This method has been submitted for its initial funding grant through the APTA, so hopefully we will have more research soon.

Nari has extensive experience doing visceral and pelvic manual therapy.  It is fairly frequent for clients who have been unable to conceive to report that they become pregnant when being treated for pelvic pain, bladder, or bowel issues.

Manual therapy can help mechanical issues.  However, we would like to emphasize that fertility is extremely individualistic.  A client should have been treated/managed by a reproductive endocrinologist if they are seeking treatment for infertility with physical therapy to approach the problem from multiple angles.