Is your pelvic pain hindering your ability to complete some of the activities or daily tasks you love to do? This pain limits some people, and sometimes can be embarrassing to deal with alone. The good news is that you aren’t alone. Pelvic pain or Endometriosis affects over 176 million women worldwide; nearly 1 in 10 women of reproductive age suffer from this debilitating condition. More than likely, a family member or close friend may be suffering, and you may not even know. Fortunately, you don’t have to continue to suffer from this condition. Your physical therapist at FYZICAL Oklahoma City is ready to assist you and find relief, today!
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What is Endometriosis?
Endometriosis is a condition in which the endometrium is found outside of the uterus, which results in chronic inflammation. This inflammation sometimes leads to excessive bloating, for many women, also leads to scar tissue of the pelvic peritoneum, ovaries, recto-vaginal septum, bladder, and bowel. Endometriosis symptoms include pain during periods, ovulation, intercourse, and chronic pelvic pain. While there is no known cure for this condition, treatment options do exist. Common treatments include medication and surgery. But when it comes to endometriosis treatment, a pelvic floor physical therapist is uniquely qualified to aid women in finding relief.
Isn’t it time you called your Oklahoma City Physical Therapists to see what FYZICAL can do for you? CALL FYZICAL
Here are our top six tips for endometriosis care from a pelvic floor physical therapist:
- PAIN NEUROSCIENCE EDUCATION. The first step in treating any condition is often education. Not knowing your diagnosis, not knowing that others are going through the same thing, not knowing where to turn to for help can leave you feeling isolated. We can alleviate this isolation through diagnosis and education. Knowledge is power, after all. Knowing that you have endometriosis is only the first part, understanding pain through pain neuroscience education can help you understand that what you are going through is a natural response from your body. Once you understand what is happening, then you can learn how to reduce the challenges you are facing.
- Neurologic Relaxation. This can be a part of education and pain neuroscience education in particular. We are under constant stressors, stressors that our biological ancestors never had to face. We still have to worry about feeding ourselves, clothing ourselves, and putting a roof over our heads, but we also worry about meeting the expectations of our boss, meeting the expectations of our social community, and keeping up with the Joneses. When we have constant stressors, like the pain associated with endometriosis, our autonomic nervous system gets turned up too high (i.e., “up-regulated”) and doesn’t have the chance to turn off. When we learn to regulate our nervous system, we can learn how to cope with our chronic stressors. Two common techniques we use at FYZICAL are structured breathing activities and biofeedback. These are easily incorporated into your care and can have immense benefits.
- Our muscles are in one of two states, relaxed or contracted. When our muscles are contracted consistently, they can tighten and begin to shorten. We need to lengthen these muscles. What does lengthening do? The pain felt during endometriosis is often thought to be a pain in the ovaries, when the pain we are feeling is from cramped or spasmed muscles. By lengthening the muscles of the pelvic floor and surrounding structures, we reduce one of the common reasons pain occurs.
- Even if muscles are overly tightened, they may not be as strong as they could be. The weakness may be underlying the endometriosis, that is you were never taught how to exercise the muscles of your pelvic floor, so we’ve come back to education and need to be taught how to help ourselves. Weakness may also develop after the onset of pain. Oftentimes exercise and movement are reduced in response to pain because we think the movement will make the pain worse. What pain neuroscience education has shown is that exercise and movement can be one of the most effective pieces in reducing pain.
- Reducing “Endo Belly.” Bloating as part of endometriosis is common, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t anything that can be done for it. Beyond stretching and strengthening the pelvic floor muscles to reduce abdominal ballooning, physical therapy can support lymphatic drainage and venous return to reduce the fluid contributing to bloating and Endo Belly.
- Myofascial Release. The layers of our soft tissue including our skin, muscles, and connective tissue need to be free to move so we can perform all the activities of daily life. The scar tissue caused by endometriosis can restrict some of the movement of these tissue layers because of adhesions. Through myofascial release, a physical therapist can break up these adhesions from the scar tissue increasing your ability to move.
You just need to get started with an evaluation, today!
Endometriosis is still being studied, it is complex, and no one has all the answers. But when it comes to pain and pelvic floor dysfunction, we want you to know you are not alone, we want you to know there are treatment options, and we want you to Love Your Life!
At FYZICAL Therapy & Balance Centers of Oklahoma City, we take pride in helping our patients live their best life. We know that when a woman comes to us with pelvic floor pain or another pelvic discomfort they are at a low point in their life. They are looking for relief, and we want them to walk away feeling better. When in pain from endometriosis, or otherwise, PT should be in your plan of care from the start. Choose PT and call FYZICAL, today!
-FYZICAL Therapy & Balance Centers of Oklahoma City
