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Period Pain

Period Pain

A Needlessly Tolerated Condition for Most Women.

Period pain, in common terms, are contractions of the muscular uterine wall to eject endometrial tissue through the cervix and into the vaginal cavity for 'disposal'; tissues that would have become a placenta if pregnancy had occurred.  The cervix itself is very reliant on good placement of the uterus to allow sufficient dilation and easy ejection of this matter.  If, for whatever reason, the uterus is not in ideal position, the muscular wall of the uterus has to work far harder to eject that material. That extra muscular effort is the typical 'period cramp'.

What are the common uterine misalignments?

Whilst the individual reasons for misalignments are myriad and far too involved to describe in detail here, the basic types are commonly accepted and described.

Retro – the uterus is 'fallen' back into the abdomen creating a bottle neck in the cervix and uterine base.  Often in response to rectal dysfunction, sigmoid dysfunction round or broad ligament dysfunction.

Side-bend – the uterus is deviated to one side or the other.  Typically due to round or broad ligament dysfunction, post surgical dysfunction and/or trauma.

Ante – the uterus in projected towards the front of the abdomen with mechanisms similar to a retro displacement.

Post surgical complications – often following caesarean deliveries.  Post surgical adhesions and scars can effect the position and function of the uterus AND surrounding tissues drastically.

How is this addressed with Visceral Manipulation?

In very much the same way as described in female sexual function (quoted below) period pain requires correction of tensions between the component organs and structures of the pelvis in the first instance and correction of other remote sites that are mechanically or hydraulically inducing those misalignments.

The first thing to state categorically is that NO internal work is ever done in Ashmore Health Centre.  Not only is it illegal, it is un-necessary.  Clients are typically fully clothed and when hands are positioned, clients are often invited to check what is happening directly as well as having the goals of each movement described in as much detail as they desire.

Most of the time, you will feel a very specific set of pressures applied to different structures through the abdomen and be asked to move in a very specific way to facilitate the actual release.

Most women are VERY surprised at how little the techniques even seem to intrude upon their modesty, even if they've had this style of work in the past.  We are not working on the mechanisms of arousal, we are working on the structures that are preventing correct response to that arousal.  Like all of Visceral Manipulation, techniques are done sparingly and relatively quickly with quite long interim periods, typically two or more weeks between visits.

Sometimes a woman will be asked to come in at roughly the same time of her cycle to address a particular problem.  This is more the exception than the normal though UNLESS working specifically with period pain.

What should a 'normal' period be like?

Painful?.. NO!  My goal is for any woman I work with in this capacity to get to a stage where she is essentially 'surprised' by her period.  Pain, cramps and the like are NOT normal, as much as the pharmaceutical companies would like to say different.  Of course, they make profit from medication sales, not painless periods without medications.

At worst, menses (period) should be no more than an inconvenience with pain levels approaching how your muscles might feel after a few more stomach crunches than normal.  Heat packs and the like?… no!  Pain-killers and anti-inflammatory drugs?.. – so far past "no" it needs a new word for "no".

 Endometriosis

Can a misplaced uterus lead to or contribute to endometriosis?.. YES!

The harder a uterus has to contract and deform to eject now ex-placental tissue, the more likely it is that cells can escape their designed environments due to pressures involved AND the more likely physical trauma at a microscopic level to the uterus is.

Can Myotherapy fix endometriosis?  No. Once those endometrial cells are free, they are free and will relocate until removed or other wise neutralized.  What myotherapy in general and visceral manipulation can do is prevent the circumstances leading to more endometrial cells being forced from the uterus and help the effected tissues deal with their endometrial cell invasions more effectively.