How Osteopathy Can Help People Trying to Conceive.

Osteopathy is a safe holistic health care system. It looks at you as a whole person, not just a uterus or a sperm making machine! 

When it comes to fertility, osteopathy can play a significant role in improving the chances of conception (check out this study). Osteopathy recognizes that the body functions as a whole, and any imbalances, restrictions, or pain in the musculoskeletal system can affect your ability to conceive. The goal is to reinstate and support your natural homeostatic (balancing) mechanisms.

We want to make sure your body is supported and encourage it to be the coziest home possible.

In this article I’ll show you how osteopathy can help people trying to conceive by looking at the anatomy of the ovarian cycle, and how OMPs can help you in your TTC journey.

Conception is a whole body physiological process

Most of the time when we think about conception, and the anatomy of conception we focus on the pelvis. Don’t get me wrong, the pelvis is super important (for conception and for overall health), but we are more than a pelvis.

One of the founding principles of osteopathy is that the body is a dynamic unit of function. What this means practically is that your pelvis doesn’t exist in isolation. It functions in partnership with the rest of your body, with EVERY other part of your body. (Next time you see me ask! And we can trace any anatomical structure back to your pelvis! That would be so much fun!) 

The other key players that relate to conception are (drum roll please)

• Your head + upper neck

• Your circulatory system and any soft tissue structure that could interfere with optimal vascular health.

• Your spine (lol I’m an OMP I have to say that)

Let’s get into each one of these and how it relates to the anatomy and physiology of trying to conceive and conception.

The head and upper neck!

Back to basics: people who have uteruses and ovaries have two cycles; a Ovarian Cycle and (omg you guessed it) a Uterine Cycle!

I’m not going to get into the nitty gritty of these two phases, if you are interested DM me and we can chattttt!

What I really want you to know is that the ovarian cycle drives the changes in the uterus (and the uterine cycle - aka menstrual cycle). And the ovarian cycle is driven by hormones! Which brings us to our first anatomical landmark! The head and upper neck! 

The hormones that influence the ovarian cycle start in the hypothalamus and pituitary gland. These are brain regions located roughly behind our eyes.

It is absolutely vital that the hypothalamus and pituitary gland are happy campers because they tell the ovaries when to start preparing an egg, and when to release it! We want to make sure that the head and upper neck are well aligned, not too forward or back in space, and that circulation is moving well! 

The circulatory system!

This brings us nicely to the circulatory system. Hormones are chemicals that travel through the circulatory system to their desired destination. The body can read these chemicals like an email or text message. 

Here is the worst fake text conversation ever (between the anterior pituitary and the ovaries):

This system works best if all the texts can get through. We all know how infuriating it is to have a text convo with someone out of sync or when messages mysteriously go missing. 

In our bodies the circulatory system is the network, or signal strength. It is suuuuuper important to make sure it is running smoothly.

This means making sure that soft tissue structures (like our diaphragm) are moving well. Our heart and lungs, and all the structures that surround these are also crucial for the parts they play. The heart is our main blood organ, the lungs help keep the blood healthy and oxygenated. 

Spine

Thinking back to the importance of our head and neck, our spines are also relevant. Our neck is attached to our spines, but more than that our spines convey posture and compensations between our head and our pelvis.

Essentially, our spine compensates and balances any soft tissue injuries or funny habitual postures we have.

This can then lead to misaligned neck and head, and/or misaligned pelvis. 

Which brings us nicely back to where we started, our bodies are a single dynamic unit of function. 

Nothing in your body exists in isolation. 

Treatment is a whole body process

The goal of osteopathic manual therapy is to support and optimize overall health. Osteopathy can help by assessing and treating any system that conception relies on. Treatment is going to be super personal and will look different for everyone because every body has a different physical and emotional history. For some, treatment may be specific to the uterus, and may involve visceral (organ) manipulation. For others, treatment might focus on overall posture and circulation. 

Together we will make sure your unique body is working its best, so it can handle whatever life throws at it.

Have questions about conception, pregnancy, and whole body health?

Shoot me an email or book an appointment!