Most experts define infertility as not being able to get pregnant after at
least one year of trying. Women who are able to get pregnant but then have
repeat miscarriages are also said to be infertile.
Pregnancy is the result of a complex chain of events. In order to get
pregnant:
A woman must release an egg
from one of her ovaries (ovulation). The egg must go through a
fallopian tube toward the uterus (womb).A man's sperm must join with
(fertilize) the egg along the way. The fertilized egg must
attach to the inside of the uterus (implantation).
Infertility can result from problems that interfere with any of these steps.
Is
infertility a common problem?
About 12 percent of women (7.3 million) in the United
States aged 15-44 had difficulty getting pregnant or
carrying a baby to term in 2002, according to the National Center
for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Is infertility just a woman's problem?
No, infertility is not always a woman's problem. In only about one-third of
cases is infertility due to the woman (female factors). In another one third of
cases, infertility is due to the man (male factors). The remaining cases are
caused by a mixture of male and female factors or by unknown factors.
What causes
infertility in men?
Infertility in men is most often caused by:
problems making sperm --
producing too few sperm or none at all problems with the sperm's
ability to reach the egg and fertilize it -- abnormal sperm shape or
structure prevent it from moving correctly
Sometimes a man is born with the problems that affect his sperm. Other times
problems start later in life due to illness or injury. What increases a man's risk of infertility?
The number and quality of a man's sperm can be affected by his overall
health and lifestyle. Some things that may reduce sperm number and/or quality
include:
alcohol, drugs, environmental toxins,
including pesticides and lead, smoking cigarettes, health problems, medicines, radiation treatment and
chemotherapy for cancer.
What causes infertility in women?
Problems with ovulation account for most cases of infertility in women.
Without ovulation, there are no eggs to be fertilized. Some signs that a woman
is not ovulating normally include irregular or absent menstrual periods.
Less common causes of fertility problems in women include:
blocked fallopian tubes due to
pelvic inflammatory disease, endometriosis or surgery for an ectopic
pregnancy, and uterine fibroids.
What things increase a woman's risk of infertility?
Many things can affect a woman's ability to have a baby. These include:
age, stress, poor diet, athletic training, being overweight or
underweight, tobacco smoking, alcohol, sexually transmitted diseases
(STDs), and health problems that cause
hormonal changes.
Aging decreases a woman's chances of having a baby in the following ways:
The ability of a woman's
ovaries to release eggs ready for fertilization declines with age. The health of a woman's eggs
declines with age. As a woman ages she is more
likely to have health problems that can interfere with fertility.
What can Physical Therapy do to assist in fertility?
Adhesions and poor reproductive mechanics cause nearly half of all
female infertility. This newly researched therapy uses non-surgical
soft tissue physical therapy to decrease adhesions and increase the
function of the reproductive organs, rather than bypassing them.
In recent years, researchers have found a link between stress and
infertility. Women who are constantly under stress produce prolactin,
cortisol and other hormones which can interfere with, or even block
regular ovulation. Although there has been an explosion of people
turning to fertility drugs and in-vitro fertilization, doctors are
increasingly looking to alternative treatments to help their patients
conceive.
“You need a healthy body and a healthy mind,” in fact, research has shown that women going through infertility rated
themselves as having higher levels of depression than women going
through cancer treatment.
The number of unexplained infertility patients has been increasing dramatically. Many are patients with no physiological problem such as a low sperm
count or in a woman, blocked fallopian tubes. As a profession, physical therapists treat afflictions that involve scarring, mobility, motility and various congestion syndromes. A specially trained physical therapist will have the awareness and understanding of the form and function of the structures of the pelvis, including the urogenital system.
For the couple that has a viable sperm and egg, yet are experiencing difficulty either becoming pregnant or carrying to full-term, a physical therapist trained in manual therapy that specifically addresses the relative anatomy of the pelvis may be of assistance.
Mr. Philip is pioneering novel, non-pharmacological management of infertility.
A properly directed physical therapy program will educate the couple towards appropriate activities that will address postural anomalies, weaknesses, adhesions and implement stress reduction techniques. A thorough physical therapy program will be inclusive of the aforementioned strategies, and include the unique characteristics of the couple allowing them a greater opportunity to conceive and carry to full term their child.
