Archive for Secondary Infertility

Caffeine and Conception

June 1, 2011 Clear Passage Physical Therapy No comments

A recent study published by MSNBC reports that caffeine may cause infertility.

For those who find comfort in their morning cup of joe, this may come as a shock. While the caffeine in in your Starbucks cup may help you feel more alert throughout the day, this study shows that it can also reduce the activity of the fallopian tube muscles. When these muscles do not function properly, it can result in an unsuccessful pregnancy or an ectopic pregnancy.

This study was originally conducted on mice who were given the equivalent of several cups of coffee. Additional research will be required to determine how much caffeine consumed by humans will affect the muscle function of a woman’s fallopian tubes.

Will this study affect the way you consume caffeine?

We’d love to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment below.

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Prior C-Section Can Cause Adhesions

April 21, 2011 Clear Passage Physical Therapy No comments
C-Section Adhesions Scar Tissue

C-section surgery generally causes adhesions to form. These adhesions can pull or spread into neighboring structures, causing c-section pain or dysfunction, including secondary infertility.

C-section Can Cause Adhesions

Cesarean section delivery (C-section) is the most common surgery among women in the US. Unfortunately, this invasive surgical procedure requires a great deal of healing to occur. Adhesions are one of the bodies automatic responses to traumas such as a fall, a surgery, an infection, or an inflammation. These adhesions are much like thick strands of nylon rope that bind to nearby structures and restrict and cover the traumatized area. Though they are designed to help the body heal, adhesions often cause ongoing pain or dysfunction, long after the surface scars have healed.

Adhesions Can Cause Pain

Because adhesions attach to nearby tissues and organs, they create a pull or restriction in the pelvis, which often results in pain. As the organs, tissues, and muscles attempt to move, a resulting pain occurs.

Secondary Infertility if often caused by C-section Adhesions

Adhesions that form after a C-section can bind together delicate reproductive structures, causing dysfunction and secondary infertility.

Adhesions Can Cause Secondary Infertility

As adhesions form throughout the pelvis, they can attach to the delicate organs of the female reproductive system. These strong, fibrous bands restrict the mobility and function of these organs, often causing secondary infertility.

Adhesions Can Cause Digestive Issues

Adhesions can also affect regular digestion by attaching to the outside or inside of the intestine wall. As adhesions bonds grow, they restrict the regular function of digestion, and can often lead to a partial bowel obstruction.

Treatment for Adhesions

Often times, pain killers or infertility drugs are offered as a treatment for those who suffer from post-surgical adhesions. Unfortunately, drugs merely mask the true problem of adhesions and offer no long-term solutions. The next step in treatment is to undergo surgery to cut or burn adhesion bonds throughout the pelvis. However, the trauma of an additional surgery causes additional adhesions to form, which can create an endless cycle of adhesions and surgery.

A manual physical therapy, called the Wurn Technique, has shown excellent results in decreasing pain and increasing function related to adhesions. This therapy feels much like a deep pelvic massage as therapists use their hands to break down the bonds of adhesions throughout the pelvis. This therapy has been endorsed by physicians from Harvard, Northwestern, and Columbia as an alternative treatment to surgery. Click here to learn more about this treatment for post C-section adhesions.

“What a much-needed, useful and safe way to deal with the common, yet mystifying problem of adhesions. You have perfected a technique to treat adhesions, with years of experience, scientific backup and case studies to prove it.”

-Dr. Leslie Mendoza Temple, Northwestern University Medical Director

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Uncovering the True Culprit of Infertility: Adhesions

October 8, 2010 Clear Passage Physical Therapy 8 comments
Adhesion formation can cause infertility by gluing down delicate tissues and organs and reducing regular function

Adhesion formation can cause infertility by gluing down delicate tissues and organs and reducing regular function.

For many women, the diagnosis of infertility begins a dedicated search for help, hope and healing. Many causes of infertility go undiagnosed while others are diagnosed as blocked fallopian tubes, endometriosis, or hydrosalpinx. However, in many cases of infertility, the true culprit comes in the form of tiny internal scars called adhesions.

These adhesions form as the bodies first response in the healing process. As adhesions form, they can attach to delicate tissues and organs creating a strong glue-like bond that restricts movement and regular function. This restriction of function causes infertility when adhesions attach throughout the pelvis and reproductive organs.  Adhesions are a particularly difficult condition because they do not appear on most diagnostic tests. Unless the adhesions are extremely large, doctors cannot know they are there unless directly visualized during surgery.

Generally, treatment for adhesions involves a surgical procedure in which the surgeon cuts or burns the adhesive bonds throughout the abdomen. However, due to the trauma and healing process involved in this procedure, adhesions often reform, sometimes worse than before the surgery.

There is a non-surgical solution for treating adhesions called the Wurn Technique®. This treatment is a hands-on physical therapy that has been successful in treating the following:

An Excerpt from ‘Fertility Rates Improve After Addressing Underlying Adhesions’ By Laura Owens

One in eight couples is affected by infertility. Faced with the overwhelming emotional and physical stress of trying to conceive, many couples seek alternative treatments after conventional medicine fails.

The Wurn Technique® is one such approach. Developed by Belinda and Larry Wurn, this treatment is based on manually palpatating blockages caused by adhesions in the body, offering a drug and surgery-free treatment for infertility, chronic pain and a long list of pelvic conditions.

…Click Here to Read More…

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Reaching Out to Women with Secondary Infertility

March 26, 2009 Clear Passage Physical Therapy No comments

By Jackie

For years, I have seen patients come to Clear Passage Therapies (CPT) with secondary infertility and find success. I’ve spoken with many of these women and written their personal experiences with infertility for the upcoming book, Miracle Moms, Better Sex, Less Pain. I have also had the opportunity to write or edit 78 other stories for the book that discuss various forms of infertility, sexual dysfunction, and chronic pain. I’ve also followed-up with many more patients who came through CPT’s doors.

Through these experiences, I’ve come to recognize subtle nuances between the different groups of women who come to CPT. In women with secondary infertility, I’ve recognized their distinct frustration and confusion. Many of them ask, “Why was it so easy to become pregnant before, but now now?” I’ve also noticed a twinge of guilt in this group of women: a sense that because they already have a child, they should be more grateful and not “complaining” about the difficulty of conceiving a second child.

I find it incredibly sad to hear women question their desires to expand their families due to conflicting feelings of guilt and frustration. I largely feel this way because I feel they have a high chance of discovering the cause of their infertility and resolving it.

A woman who had no problems conceiving her first child has, in a way, a “leg up” on other women because her doctors can look and see what has changed since that pregnancy. If a doctor performs routine tests and cannot find a cause, a woman is still not out of options. At CPT, we believe that many causes of unexplained infertility are mechanical in nature and thus due to adhesions. Adhesions may form after any type of injury or trauma to the body. They can constrict, cover, and pull on important tissues and organs, leading to infertility. The birthing process itself can cause trauma to the body and subsequent adhesion formation. Our therapists have also seen a correlation between secondary infertility and previous c-sections or episiotomies. When examining a patient, our therapists also review a patient’s history for any trauma that has occurred since childbirth – perhaps a severe fall, car accident, yeast or bladder infection, or surgery. These events signal adhesion formation.

CPT has had success treating unexplained infertility and secondary infertility by addressing adhesions that form in the body. However, we have never advertised this fact on our website until recently. After speaking with so many women who had success after being treated for secondary infertility at CPT, I worked with the CPT team to design a web page specifically about how we treat this condition. The page was loaded in late February and I happy that women who suffer from secondary infertility can learn about a new treatment choice. I encourage you to review the site and let us know what you think below. If you feel there’s something else we should address on this page, just leave a comment below. To read more about secondary infertility, see 10 Clues to Solving Secondary Infertility,

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Treatment for Pain after an Episiotomy

March 18, 2009 Clear Passage Physical Therapy No comments

By Jackie

An episiotomy is a surgical incision of the perineum (the area between the vagina and the anus) that is made while a woman is giving birth in order to enlarge the vaginal opening for delivery. Following the birth, the doctor then sutures the area closed. After a few weeks, most women no longer experience pain around their stitches, though doctors generally recommend that a woman wait six weeks to have sex again.

When women continue to experience pain near the episiotomy site after six weeks has passed, it is a sign that adhesions may have formed. When any part of the body is injured, collagen rushes to the area to contain incoming bacteria, prevent the loss of blood, and enable the area to be healed. However, this sticky collagen builds to form adhesions that can also adhere to neighboring structures or constrict the tissues it covers.

Women who have episiotomies experience trauma to the peritoneum, pelvic floor muscle, and vagina. If the pelvic floor muscle has adhesions, a woman may experience pelvic pain, painful intercourse, urinary incontinence, and infertility (see Secondary Infertility). The peritoneum and vagina are very pain-sensitive structures and minimal adhesion formation can cause great pain, especially during intercourse or urination.

The “hands-on” work practiced at Clear Passage Therapies® clinics (see What is the Wurn Technique?) is designed to reduce or eliminate adhesions, crosslink by crosslink. After treatment, many women find that the constant pulling or tightness sensation is gone, intercourse pain is eliminated, and sexual function is increased (for more info, read The G-Spot and Sexual Dysfunction).

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