Rubbed the Right Way: Fertility Massage

What it Is

Back in the 1950s, Australian Tom Bowen created what came to be known as the Bowen Technique (aka Bowenwork and BowTech). Simply put, this gentle approach involves manipulation of muscle and soft tissue with light pressure through clothing on specific areas of the body such as the coccyx (tailbone), lower back, legs, shoulders, and neck, says Sandra Gustafson, R.N., president of the United States Bowen Registry in Bodega Bay, California. Interestingly, many of Bowen’s moves seem to use the same acupoints as in traditional Chinese medicine.

How it Works to Boost Fertility

“The first part of working with a woman with infertility is to determine if she’s having regular menses,” Gustafson explains. Once the menstrual cycle is normalized, Bowenwork techniques try to optimize ovulation. “That’s done by seeing the woman for treatments two to three times prior to the onset of the menstrual cycle and asking her and her partner to refrain from all sexual activity until the day of ovulation,” she adds. Though Bowenwork for fertility hasn’t been studied, Gustafson believes it affects the nervous system and improves lymphatic drainage and circulation to the reproductive organs. “A lot of time people have congestion, such as endometriosis, a history of pelvic inflammatory disease, or ovarian cysts, that result in less than optimal functioning in the area.”

What it Costs

Rates vary nationwide; Gustafson charges $60 per treatment, which lasts 30 to 60 minutes. You’ll likely see a practitioner once a week; normalizing the menstrual cycle takes two to six months.

For More Information

Contact the Bowen Registry (www.bowenwork.com, or call 866-862-6936) for a list of practitioners in your area.

What it Is

Clear Passage Therapies was developed by licensed massage therapist Larry Wurn as a method to repair pelvic adhesions that can prevent a woman from conceiving or carrying a pregnancy to term. Explains Wurn, “Pelvic adhesions are like the scar that forms when you cut yourself. Whenever internal tissue receives any sort of damage—from a bladder or yeast infection, or inflammation like endometriosis, or a surgery or trauma—adhesions form to help the body heal. But once we heal, the adhesions remain and they’re a major aspect of mechanical infertility, when something gets in the way of sperm and egg getting together or the embryo implanting.”

How it Works to Boost Fertility

The manual soft-tissue manipulation applied to the belly during a Clear Passage treatment is quite deep (the technique has some similarities to myofascial release, in which small areas of muscle tissue are stretched to release tightness) but not uncomfortable. The practitioner first palpates the area to determine what’s amiss (an out-of-alignment cervix is a common problem that can make inseminations and IVF procedures difficult) and then to break down the collagenous bonds that create adhesions, says Wurn, who also claims that the technique can open blocked fallopian tubes. To date, 167 babies have been born to mothers who received the treatment. A 2004 study, published in Medscape General Medicine and conducted by Wurn and colleagues, suggests that both women undergoing IVF and those trying to conceive naturally were more likely to become pregnant if they’d had Clear Passage treatment.

What it Costs

A 20-hour course of treatment (done in four-hour increments over one week) costs about $5000.

For More Information

Go to www.clearpassage.com, or call 866-222-9437.

The Anji Connection’s recently launched site (www.anjiconnection.com) connects women dealing with infertility with local massage therapists, acupuncturists, chiropractors, naturopaths, counselors, yoga instructors, and other integrative medicine experts.

A version of this article originally appeared in the Spring 2007 issue of Conceive Magazine.

Related Topics: Alternative Medicine for Fertility; Boost Your Fertility; Fertility Health; Stress and Fertility