Pelvic Organs: Visceral Manipulation Part 2

Pelvic Organs: Visceral Manipulation ~ Part 2

If you are reading this and thinking, “What is Visceral Manipulation?’ and/or “part 2 of what?” please go to What Is Visceral Manipulation to read the first introductory article I wrote about a year ago explaining Visceral Manipulation/Organ Mobilization. Jean-Pierre Barral, French Osteopathic Physician who is the one of the founders of Visceral Manipulation, has spent the last 40 years treating patients using specific treatment protocols, documenting and researching through imaging scans and fluroscopy, and helped hundreds of thousands of people to better health who turned to him after years of conventional medicine letting them down.

To quote myself from my previous article, Visceral Manipulation is “a gentle and specific manual therapy encouraging normal mobility of the organs and their connective tissue. Yes, I’m saying that the VM therapist is trained to move and release restrictions (using the hands on your abdomen) of specific organs in a gentle and painless way.” VM is received with the therapists hands on the abdominal region either through a thin layer of clothing or on the surface of the skin. Sometimes one session will make a big change, but most of the time 3 to 5 sessions can help resolve an issue. For the past year I have been doing Visceral work on my clients who have Digestive Issues such as: acid reflux, stomach pain, bloating, constipation, cramping, diverticulitis, and gall bladder removal scar tissue, just to name a few.

In this article I am focusing on Visceral Manipulation (VM) of the Pelvic Organs, as this is the most recent training I have received and the original aspect that got me into wanting to even learn this gentle form of Manual Therapy. All treatments are performed externally by placing my palm on the lower abdomen, sacrum, or adductors of the thighs in a professional and precise way, in order to release adhesions of the ligaments supporting these organs, helping them to function at their best. In my 18 years of massage practice, I have had many female clients struggling with issues such as severe menstrual cramping, pelvic pain, scar tissue from C-sections, and infertility. I’ve always wanted to find a way to help them. When I discovered Barral’s approach to Visceral Manipulation (Organ Mobilization) just over a year ago, I had finally found what I was looking for.

Listed below are the Pelvic Organs and the dis-eases associated with them that Visceral Manipulation can help to resolve or reduce symptoms of:

BLADDER: Visceral Manipulation has a great record for helping cases of Bladder incontinence; as well as those who think of themselves as having a “small bladder,” a.k.a. having to urinate only 20-30 minutes after emptying their bladder, interupting sleep waking up to pee throughout the night, or can’t get through an hour show on Netflix without having to pause it and use the restroom AGAIN!

UTERUS and OVARIES and FALLOPIAN TUBES:
Women with heavy periods, irregular cycles, fibroids, ovarian cysts, endometriosis, painful menstrual cramps, constipation, pelvic heaviness, abdominal swelling, slight knee pain, edema of the connective tissues and C-section scar tissue tension can get amazing relief with Visceral Manipulation. Also, fertility issues (depending on the cause) can sometimes be helped with this hands-on technique. Not in every case, but it doesn’t hurt to try it! Much less expensive than IVF.
*VM should NEVER be received during Pregnancy or on any woman who has an IUD.

MEN’S HEALTH:
Can help ease symptoms of Chronic Prostatitis by reducing the fibrosity in the tissues around the urethra and restore prostate to it’s normal condition.
*VM should NEVER be received during Acute Prostatitis (signs of pain, redness, sensitivity, and fever).

PAIN IN OTHER AREAS THAT MAY BE CAUSED BY THE PELVIC ORGANS:
Low back pain~ Premenstrual due to uterus pressure on uterosacral ligament needing to be released and stretched
Inflamed Femoral nerve leg and knee pain/ Sciatica ~ Ovarian area may be congested and fibrosed

If you are still reading, you may be starting to feel your modesty get the best of you. This discomfort with receiving care for the organs of the pelvis needs to be addressed in order for you to get the care you need to help heal your body. Jean-Pierre Barral, D.O. Osteopathic Physician, says it best in his book, “Urogenital Manipulation” so I will quote from Barral, the greatest expert in this field for whom this has been his life’s work. “We view the human body as an organic, functional entity. We were puzzled by the fact that the urogenital system often seems to be viewed differently from other body systems (i.e. largely ignored) by medical professionals and patients alike. One obvious reason for this is culturally programmed ‘modesty.’ The early anatomical texts were written by monks. How did they refer to the urogenital system? As the pudendalis system, i.e., the system to be ashamed of! This stigma remained even as medicine became secularized. Many physicians assumed the role of defenders of morality, and their attitude toward parts of the body having sexual or excretory functions was shaped by prevailing social taboos and inhibitions as much as my practical medical considerations.

The true beneficiaries of these techniques are the women who take advantage of them to feel better and, in some cases, avoid surgery. To us, it makes no sense for a practitioner of manual medicine to deliberately avoid the urogenital area. These tissues are some of the most stressed in the body because of the effects of pregnancy, delivery, menstruation, lumbosacral dysfunction, intestinal problems, lower limb restrictions, psychological / emotional phenomena, etc. As health professionals, we have an obligation to help our patients in whatever way is appropriate.”

I hope you found this article helpful. Feel free to call me (Joanna Dembek LMT) at 970-310-1539 if you have any questions before booking your Visceral Manipulation appointment. Thanks for listening and hope you learned something of value.

To learn more about the benefits of Visceral Manipulation, see the research and case studies, click on this link: https://www.barralinstitute.com/therapies/