A former patient emailed me with these conditions after her last delivery:
“Dear Dr. Gillespie,
“The gist of my issues is that I’m still having incontinence. I had absolutely no control over my bladder the first few weeks after birth, and it was quite scary. It’s slowly gotten better to about 80% control. I still have problems when I cough and sneeze. I did not experience this after my first two births.
“I’m also having a bit of prolapse, and unsure if it’s uterine or bladder. I had this a bit after my last birth, but it went away. I’ve been told the cause is hormonal imbalance (I’m breastfeeding and will be doing so for at least another 18 months), and it may not subside until then.
“I also have a bit of diastasis recti that I’d like to resolve.
“Let me know what you think.”
Dr. Gillespie Responds
I had done a lot of therapy for this patient before this pregnancy, so I know that her present conditions were the top layers of her current onion of trauma.
If she were a new untreated patient, then the unknown would become a huge factor in therapy. How much pre-pregnancy pelvic fascial strain would be in her onion?
I would check her current brain cycle against her pre-pregnancy cycle number. If it has diminished, I know there are new fascial strains.
I am assuming they will be centered around the pelvic floor and abdominal areas. I would gently hold and listen to each leg and let her lower body talk to me.
When that cleared, I would check her brain’s response—the craniosacral connection. I would then have her hold her bladder, uterus, urethra, and other problematic areas separately over her clothes as I held her legs and then her neck.
Agreed, there may also be hormonal issues, but my goal is to eliminate the structural component first to see if that makes a significant difference.
Since the web connects all the body’s cells, internal work would hopefully be avoided with this approach. If that is needed, I would refer her to a pelvic-floor physical therapist.
The Patient Emails After the First Visit
“Hi Barry! Thanks for seeing me today! My lower-back pain is 90% better, and I feel like I have majorly increased mobility in my torso! I will keep notes on how my incontinence improves as well. I can’t wait for our next session.”
Dr. Gillespie Responds
Her brain cycle went from 240 seconds pre-birth down to 50 seconds after the birth. As soon as the pelvic strains started to work out, her brain cycle opened up nicely. Trauma anywhere in the fascial web can cause issues anywhere else in the body. I expect her to do well with continued therapy.
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