Imagine sitting in one position ALL DAY Long. …never moving out of that one position. The seat of the chair pressing against the backs of the legs would compress blood vessels, causing pain and numbness. If you stayed in that one position long enough, the compression of the vascular system would impede blood and lymph flow and lead to varicose veins, edema, discoloration of the feet, and even cell death. Fortunately, your body signals you when it’s time to get up, move around, and change positions to avoid discomfort and tissue damage.
A displaced and immobile uterus experiences similar vascular, lymphatic, nervous, and cellular disturbances. I’ve personally seen color return to the feet moments after restoring a right-leaning uterus to center. The incident that stands out in my mind is a client who was eight months pregnant with a right-leaning uterus; her left foot looked normal in color, but her right foot was purple. There was also a noticeable temperature difference between the left and right feet, along with ankle edema. Using the gentle uterine positioning techniques was all it took to restore blood flow to her extremities. By the end of the session, the color and temperature of her feet equalized.
One doesn’t need to be pregnant to have an immobile uterus affect surrounding vessels and organs. The uterus weighs about four ounces when not menstruating and can double in size to eight to ten ounces right before and during your period. That’s a lot of weight on the surrounding blood and lymph vessels as well as the rectum or bladder, depending on which way the uterus is adhered to the structures.
The uterus must be mobile for proper physiological function. When the uterus is fixed in one position, fibrosis of the ligaments can occur, impairing local circulation. When circulation is impaired, cells won’t receive adequate nutrients or oxygen, leading to pain.
When the surrounding structures are so restricted, they bind down on the tissues, affecting cellular activity. The organs are the sum of their cells, so what happens in the cells influences the organs’ state.
Yellow: inferior/superior White: rotational Purple: transverse plane Blue: side bending
A few of the symptoms of an immobile uterus may include:
- painful and/or irregular periods
- back, hip, leg, pelvic, and/or abdominal pain
- hemorrhoids/varicose veins
- hormonal imbalance
- irritable bladder
- constipation, especially with a retroverted uterus
- painful intercourse
Contributing factors that may lead to an immobile uterus?
- sedentary lifestyle
- inflammation
- adhesions from surgery
- Poor pelvic alignment
- adhesions from infection
- adhesions from trauma
What you can do to keep circulation flowing through the pelvis:
Breathing by expanding the ribcage in circumference, rather than shallow upper-chest breathing, mobilizes the uterus. “Although the effect is difficult to quantify, some studies suggest that the “attractive” force of the diaphragm reduces the effective weight of the uterus by approximately 50%,” -Jean-Pierre Barral, D.O.
Massage helps improve arterial, venous, and lymph flow. Margo the Wandering Womb getting a massage.
In the online Womb Care course, I’ve included a module titled Pelvic Alignment because pelvic alignment influences uterine health.
For instance, the broad ligament connects the uterus to the lateral walls of the pelvis. The broad ligament is an extension of the peritoneum and envelops the uterus in its folds, so it appears as two flat, broad ligaments extending outward laterally. Uterine ligaments are different from other ligaments in the body; uterine ligaments create pathways for blood vessels.
In this module, you’ll learn how pelvic alignment affects reproductive and pelvic floor health. I’ll teach you exercises and practical ways to incorporate pelvic health into your daily life. This module alone includes nine videos, an exercise ebook, and an exercise chart. LEARN MORE>>>
Author: Barbara Horsley has more than 26 years of experience as a licensed massage therapist. She specializes in abdominal massage and Visceral Manipulation™ and is an NCBTMB-approved educator. In addition to being certified in abdominal massage, she also studied biomechanics and restorative exercise. She is also a Certified Women’s Herbal Educator and a graduate of the IWHI Perimenopause & Menopause Certificate Program.