Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/1315831
62 m a s s a g e & b o d y wo r k j a n u a r y/ fe b r u a r y 2 0 2 1 core exercises and abdominal muscle rehabilitation to counter diastasis and rebuild core strength. 22 Research clearly suggests that the process of vaginal childbirth exacts a significant toll on pelvic tissue, greatly increasing the probability of PFD as women age. 23 Since we know that so much of PFD is related to muscular and fascial trauma, it seems likely that early and preventive pelvic massage after childbirth may help reduce the number and/or degree of pelvic dysfunctions in women, allowing them to live fuller lives without the pain and embarrassment of PFD. I believe that by working with a pelvic floor therapist as a first-line, minimally invasive therapy for preventing and treating PFD, fascia can be relaxed, allowing blood and lymphatic fluids to flow freely to our muscles, joints, bones, organs, and nervous system, allowing all to work more effectively. 24 Such work, over both the short and long term, can increase range of movement in the muscles and fascia, resulting in an increased ability to either contract or release muscles evenly, thus improving muscle function that would allow for proper pelvic organ positioning. 25 Notes 1. Ylenia Fonti et al., "Post Partum Pelvic Floor Changes," Journal of Prenatal Medicine 3, no. 4 (October–December 2009): 57–59, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3279110. 2. National Institutes of Health, "Roughly One Quarter of U.S. Women Affected by Pelvic Floor Disorders: Weakened Many times patients are told that symptoms related to pelvic floor disorders are normal af ter childbirth, leaving women to quietly struggle with these issues on their own.