Infertility (Mechanical)

Infertility is defined as the inability to conceive after one year of having regular, unprotected intercourse, or after six months if the woman is older than 35. About 10 to 15 percent of couples struggle with infertility, which can be caused my multiple female factors including hormonal imbalances, problems with ovulation, endometriosis, pelvic inflammatory disease, history of pelvic surgeries and adhesions, as well as various factors of male infertility. Pelvic health physical therapy can potentially help with mechanical infertility, which includes endometriosis, adhesions, uterine malpositions, cervical issues, and can also help with unknown etiology of infertility. It can also be beneficial during assisted reproduction to help create a hospitable pelvic environment to optimize successful outcomes. Unfortunately, if the reason for infertility is ovulatory dysfunction in nature, there is no research that shows pelvic health physical therapy to be beneficial in this case.

Therapy treatments would focus on improving fascial movement of the pelvic organs using visceral mobilization to allow for optimal organ function, especially if there has been a history of endometriosis, adhesions, or inflammation, as well as improving pelvic blood flow and addressing any pelvic congestion present. While there needs to be more research into the benefit of pelvic health physical therapy for mechanical infertility, there are a couple studies that show its promise, which you can find listed below.