Hands-On Endometriosis Treatment

A hands-on technique employing myofascial and viscerofascial mobilization techniques is successful at reducing pain throughout the menstrual cycle of women diagnosed with endometriosis, according to research.

"Treating endometriosis pain with a manual pelvic physical therapy" reported significant improvement in pain throughout the three cycles of menstruation (pre-menstruation, menstruation and ovulation), among 18 women with endometriosis, with relief lasting up to six weeks after treatment.

The Wurn technique, developed by Larry and Belinda Wurn, utilizes manual manipulation of facial adhesions in the connective tissues of the pelvis, which reduces pressure on pain-sensitive structures and increases range of motion and flexibility in the tissues. "The therapy appears to break adhesive cross-links that form when the patient heals from injury, infection, surgery or inflammation," says Larry Wurn.

Endometriosis affects up 5.5 million women and girls in North America, according the Endometriosis Association. It occurs when tissue similar to that which lines the uterus (endometrium) grows outside the uterus: on the ovaries, fallopian tubes and ligaments that support the uterus; perineum; and the lining of the pelvic cavity. Each month the tissue sheds but has no way of leaving the body, resulting in internal bleeding, inflammation and pain, and can cause infertility, scar-tissue formation and bowel dysfunction.

The study was published in the September 2006 issue of Fertility and Sterility.