Claudia– Pelvic Pain & Dysfunction
This week’s Healing Story emphasizes the important role that the nervous system plays in healing, regardless of the issue someone comes in with. I love the surprise twist when I changed my approach!
I had been working with “Claudia” on pelvic pain for a couple of months. She had extensive scarring and adhesions in her pelvis, and intense pain during her periods, as well as during/ after sex. Her pelvic pain had been a big theme in her life, even before she had children and surgeries. As I got to know her better, I saw that she was constantly in a state of stress. She had IBS that was clearly related to feeling like she was either behind in life or fighting through a threatening scenario. It sounded like she had experienced life this way for decades– a constant struggle that would never allow her to rest or relax.
Once I understood that she was activated almost all of the time and that her nervous system was constantly in the “fight or flight” state, her pelvic pain made even more sense to me. This understanding redirected me to NOT work on her pelvis for a couple of sessions. Instead, I focused on her nervous system, mainly working on the head and neck.When she came back to see me last week, Claudia had a big smile on her face. She told me that although she was in an intense season for work and family life, she was coping MUCH better with all of it. The headaches and neck pain that she had gotten used to over the years were GONE. She also marveled that although I had taken a break from working with the tissues in her pelvis, her pelvic pain had greatly improved!
This big change makes sense to me, because her overall level of tension and inflammation went down. Sometimes, when someone is very activated and sensitive– whether pelvic pain or digestive issues, or some other area– I don’t even touch the irritated zones. I focus instead on helping the client’s nervous system learn to relax.This alone promotes rest and healing, reduces the inflammatory response in the body, and reduces pain– and often the symptoms they came in for. From there, with a fortified ability to handle stress and to recover from tissue changes, I will work more directly with the areas that are hurting. This creates a much better experience overall, and really speeds up the recovery process.
It’s so important to always consider the whole story of a client. Our body’s symptoms are a form of communication, and when we listen closely to both the client’s story and to the tissues themselves, it’s incredible how quickly things can change for them. It’s very exciting! I am so thrilled for Claudia, and can’t wait to see her continue to heal and experience life differently.
