Relieve Your Myomectomy Pain Without Surgery
A fibroid may be as small as a grapefruit seed or as large as a grapefruit.
Myomectomy is the surgical removal of uterine leiomyomas (commonly called fibroids) from the uterus. Myomectomy surgery is performed via abdominal laparotomy (open surgery), laparoscopy (access through small abdominal incisions), or hysteroscopic surgery (access through the vagina and cervix). Physicians consider the size, type, and location of the fibroid(s) when determining which surgical procedure to recommend.
A fibroid may be as small as a grapefruit seed or as large as a grapefruit; on rare occasions, a fibroid may grow even larger. Fibroids are generally benign (non-cancerous) and classified as submucosal (growing into the uterus), intramural (within the wall of the uterus), or subserosal (on the outside of the uterus).
Myomectomy is the surgical removal of uterine leimyomas (commonly called fibroids).
Myomectomy can help relieve heavy menstrual bleeding and pelvic pain, and improve a woman’s chances for successful pregnancy. Like other surgeries, it can also leave painful adhesions and scarring. Moreover, myomectomy may clear present fibroids but cannot stop new fibroids from developing later. Thus, a repeat myomectomy may be recommended for some women.
Women who undergo myomectomy sometimes experience deep or superficial pain (or both) after a myomectomy, as the body develops scars and adhesions to help the body heal from surgical repair. Adhesions within the uterus can impair fertility by causing tightness or spasm, thus decreasing the chances of successful implantation of a fertilized egg. Adhesions outside the uterus can cause infertility by binding delicate reproductive structures such as the ovaries or fallopian tubes, impairing their function.
Immediately after surgery, tiny strands of collagen rush to the site that has been cut, to start the process of healing. There, they lay down in a random pattern to create powerful adhesive bonds (see our general adhesions page for more detail). After a myomectomy, these adhesions can remain in the body for life, as a permanent by-product of the surgery.
We are very familiar with uterine and post-surgical adhesions. We faced this situation 20 years ago when the physical therapist director of Clear Passage Physical Therapy, Belinda Wurn, developed severe adhesions after surgery and radiation therapy to treat cancer in her pelvis. Unable to work due to the pain, and having seen the devastating and debilitating effects of post-surgical adhesions in her own patients, she was determined to find a non-surgical way to treat adhesions.
With her husband, massage therapist Larry Wurn, Belinda took a much deeper look at the etiology and biomechanics of adhesion formation. They found that the chemical bonds that attached each of the tiny collagen fibers to its neighbor appeared to dissipate or permanently deform with certain manual physical therapy techniques. With this knowledge, they developed the Wurn Technique® to unravel the bonds between the fibers that comprise adhesions.
When a patient who has undergone a myomectomy comes to our clinic with pain or infertility, our physical therapists thoroughly evaluate the areas of tension or restricted mobility. They pay particular attention to the uterus and surrounding areas. Considering the tendency of adhesions to spread, they then examine the entire pelvis, then the rest of the body for areas of decreased mobility, tension, and pain. The “hands-on” work practiced at Clear Passage Physical Therapy clinics has been shown in peer-reviewed medical journals to reduce adhesions, decrease pain, and to improve fertility and soft tissue mobility, without the risks or side-effects of surgery or drugs.
Visit our “what treatment is like” web page for more information, or click the link on this page now, to complete a medical history questionnaire and apply for an in-depth consultation (at no charge).
