Adhesions and Abdominal Organ Mobility
We have long heard about adhesions being the source of pain after surgery, but loss of abdominal organ mobility can and does occur without surgery! Inflammation, poor posture, diet, lack of exercise, trauma, infection, stress and pregnancy are common causes of our organs losing their ability to glide relative to one another. This can manifest in gradual onset of symptoms in your digestive, respiratory, or pelvic organ systems that most people commonly ignore. Or if you visit a doctor and your diagnostic tests come back ‘normal’ but you still have lingering pain or dysfunction, the reason is you have a FUNCTIONAL problem, and not one that can be seen with STRUCTURAL testing.
Let’s take a look at a common orthopedic problem and identify how lack of abdominal organ mobility plays into potential pain. Hip pain is a complaint that causes many people to visit a physician’s office every year. There are numerous very effective, non-invasive treatments that should result in a positive outcome. If for some reason you don’t have complete resolution of pain with these approaches OR you simply don’t respond to the treatment, there likely is an issue outside the bones, ligaments, and joints. And with the hip, one of the considerations is your digestive system, specifically your colon (large intestine). Many times there is a history of digestive issues and patients have no idea that it is relevant! Part of your large intestine is in close proximity to your hip joint, and chronic inflammation in your gut can be causing changes in how your hip and/or pelvis moves.
Visceral manipulation is a gentle, manual therapy that addresses abdominal organ mobility that is contributing to pain or poor health.
Here is a link to a great article from Barbara Loomis, LMT, RES that further explains abdominal adhesions.
