One aspect I personally love about working with Clear Passage Therapies (CPT) is their continued work and effort towards research and education. The entire CPT team loves to conduct studies, closely follow the progress of patients, and look for ways to improve treatment. Once the CPT team feels that treatment can help or improve a certain condition, we share this news on our website.

Today, a new page was added to our website: C-Section Pain. CPT first began treating c-section pain when women came to the clinic for treatment of secondary infertility (unable to become pregnant after previously conceiving and carrying a child). A large majority of the women had also undergone c-sections and experienced pain at or near their incision sites. Some reported a constant pull near their scar, while others reported persistent pain that started after their c-section and gradually increased.

Our therapists felt that the c-section pain or discomfort these women experienced was tied to their infertility. At CPT, we believe the body functions as a whole; pain and dysfunction in one area is often linked to pain or dysfunction in another area. When our therapists examined the patient’s body, they could feel adhesive patterns near the incision sites, extending down into the uterus. They felt that these adhesions not only caused the woman’s pain, but significantly impaired her fertility. As our therapists worked to reduce the adhesions, the patient reported she no longer experienced pain near their c-section. A few months after treatment, she also became naturally pregnant!

The CPT team began to notice that many women with prior c-sections were reporting decreased pain and improved digestion after treatment for secondary infertility. We continued to follow our patients closely and researched more about how our patients with c-sections could benefit from treatment.  After significant time and work, our therapists can now confidently say they can treat pain and dysfunction associated with c-sections. To celebrate and share the news, the CPT team created a new web page for C-section pain. The CPT team will continue to unveil new web pages over the next month, so keep checking back to see the numerous ways we are researching and developing the field of manual physical therapy.

When a woman comes to CPT with secondary infertility, one of the first questions our therapists ask is, “Did you have a C-section?”

Through years of experience, our therapists have found that c-sections frequently cause adhesion formation within the abdominal and pelvic cavity. Adhesions can impede fertility by blocking the fallopian tubes, restricting the uterus, pulling on the ligaments attached to the uterus, and many other ways.

Scientific studies have demonstrated the direct link between c-sections and adhesion formation time and time again. A new study released by Fertility and Sterility (Dec 2008) went a step further and found that the appearance of a c-section scar can predict the severity of adhesion formation within the abdomen.

The study examined 101 women who had previously undergone a c-section. The scientists first examined the c-section scar and noted pertinent characteristics, such as if the scar was flat or depressed (going into the skin). The scientists then examined intra-abdominal adhesions when the women had a second c-section (all women who enrolled in the study planned to have a second c-section).

The study found that 43% of the women had adhesions (either filmy or dense). Of these women, the only significant indicator of adhesions was a depressed scar.

If you are currently struggling with secondary infertility after a c-section, you may find it beneficial to examine your scar to see if it is indented into your abdomen. If it is, you may want to learn more about how adhesions can impact your fertility, or read our article, “How Adhesions Form and Impair Fertility.”

If your scar is not depressed, you are still not out of the clear. Adhesions can form after a c-section and not cause an indented scar.  To learn more about common signs of adhesion formation, please visit our adhesion and fertility page.