Improving Your Fertility: How Exercise and Manual Techniques Can Help
Fertility…infertility…just talking about either can cause some major anxiety and stress because it feels like many things are uncontrollable or unknown. That feeling of having no control over either situation is exactly what inspired this blog post. Instead of focusing on those uncontrollables or unknowns, I would love to shed some light on a few things that you CAN do when trying to improve your fertility.
Because, yes, there are absolutely things that are 100% out of your control or may remain unknown, but there are also many things that you can embrace as things you can control and focus on! This blog post is going to dive into how certain exercises and manual techniques can help improve your reproductive health and what research-backed evidence supports for improving your fertility.
Infertility and Potential Causes:
The definition of infertility is considered to be a disease that prevents a couple from getting pregnant after a year or more of unprotected sex. But it’s truly so much more than that. There are many causes and types of infertility and it can affect both male or female. A few common reasons for infertility can include:
PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome)
Endometriosis
Thyroid Diseases
Fibroids
Age
Not all of the above listed mean that you absolutely will have fertility struggles, but they are common amongst those who do struggle.
A few external factors that can also play a role include:
Endocrine disruptors (hormone disruptors)
Smoking
Excessive alcohol use
Diet
Stress
Again, this list is not all-inclusive and having one or many of these factors does not indicate infertility, but they are factors to consider!
How Exercise and Manual Techniques Can Help
Infertility and the specific cause can be very complex; however, oftentimes internal adhesions can be a factor and is a fairly common find in those who do struggle with infertility. Addressing those adhesions is exactly why specific exercises and manual techniques have been found to be effective in improving fertility.
The reason being that exercises can improve blood flow (circulation) to specific areas and provide mobility where needed. Various manual techniques can help to improve movement in those adhesions and reduce that restriction that may be causing “blockage” or increased and unhelpful tension.
Again, the issue is typically complex and no two individuals struggling with infertility are the same, but if adhesions are a part of the problem, then considering alternative and conservative treatments like exercise and manual techniques or even combining your current treatment plan with these options is always something to consider!
My Personal Journey With Fertility…
I’ll try to make a long story much shorter, but I know it helps to have some background.
In 2019 we decided we were ready to try for a family soon. Unfortunately I was not having a period which kind of makes things difficult when you are wanting to get pregnant, right?! I was put on Provera and Clomid to try and induce a period and ovulation, but it never worked after 3 cycles. We decided to get on the schedule of a reproductive endocrinologist. During the wait to get in, I really took a deep dive into the root cause of my lack of period and fertility struggles. This is where I started to change my lifestyle.
In March of 2020 we saw the RE and he had told me I had Hypothalamic Amenorrhea (HA). To sum up what HA is, it is when your body is worn down to a degree that it slows down the thyroid function which in turn typically causes a lack of period since the body doesn’t feel “safe” to house a child. He dove into the topic and gave us a few options but said IUI was the way to go and if that failed after a few attempts, IVF would be the next step. We were eager to try since we already had been a while so we decided to try the IUI. During this time I started to also see a Functional Medicine (FM) provider who could help me navigate the root cause of my fertility issues and take a holistic approach to it instead of just meds and IUI’s/IVF’s.
As I started with the FM, I looked into things that could be affecting my fertility and HA within my daily life: the foods I eat, the products I use, the exercise I do. And those were the main areas I focused on at first. I read “Beyond the Pill” by Dr. Jolene Brighten and this book really opened my eyes to what was going on in my body and things started to click on how I could change it and gain back a healthy period and healthier life.
Between the time of August 2020 and October 2020 we had 2 miscarriages. One was with IUI and one was naturally. Both were devastating. My heart goes out to anyone who is struggling and has experienced loss…no matter how long you carried this sweet baby. We were told IVF was our next option but we both just didn’t feel that was the right call just yet. So from December of 2020 to summer of 2021 I just allowed my body time to heal and do it’s best to recover and have a healthy period. I took a big look at my lifestyle and here were the things I focused on:
DIET: Changing my diet from low cal/fat free/nutrient lacking food to whole food based diets focusing on good quality fats like olive oils, avocados, grass fed butters, and focusing on nutrient RICH food instead of “how much can I eat with it being the least amount of calories”. Simply changing my diet to better quality foods and looking at a balanced plate (protein, fats, carbs), was so key for me.
EXERCISE: I was doing a lot of HIIT style workouts and cardio. What I know now through the research I’ve done and how it affects women differently, HIIT can be a fantastic form of exercise but only 1-2 times a week…not EVERY workout. I scaled back a ton on my exercise which was scary during the time, but it was the best thing I have done. I moved into mostly strength training with some cardio sprinkled in and mostly just walking for that! My body responded way better to this and now, 3 years later, my body is stronger and feels the best it ever has due to the exercise specific changes along with the other changes too.
EXTERNAL FACTORS: I started to look at the products I was using and the ingredients in them. Some of the biggest swaps I made were going fragrance free in almost all my products, switching plastic wear to glass, cooking with PFAS free pans, filtering my water (since have gotten a reverse osmosis under our sink), essential oil based candles or just doing diffusers, etc. Now don’t think you need to do ALL of these kinds of things at once. I surely did not. But overtime I started to replace stuff and choose better quality products and investing in these kinds of things rather than other things.
TOOLS: Acupuncture was super helpful for me and I feel helped my hormones get back on track. Breath work (like diaphragmatic breathing) and tapping into the parasympathetic nervous system to help my body get out of “fight or flight”. Mercier Therapy is something I discovered toward the end of our first TTC journey. Mercier is a hands on therapy that works on visceral movement and ultimately helps bring life back to the reproductive organs. Once I found Mercier therapy I knew it was something I needed to try. And I decided to go full in and become certified since there was an opening spot. While I waited to go to the course I decided to try some of the treatment on myself for what I knew when researching it. Low and behold, that next month I got pregnant with our Mia!!
I firmly believe it was a culmination of everything I had done over the past couple years to lead to the pregnancy that stuck. All of it played a role and all of it shaped me in so many areas of my life. I know from my experiences it can be a rabbit hole when it comes to finding ways to get pregnant. But I do hope this part of my story encourages you more than anything. It’s never a one size fits all, but seeing other’s stories helps in even the smallest ways.
Let’s dive into a few of my favorite movement specific and hands on specific topics:
My Top Fertility Exercises to Consider:
I have four exercises to share with you that are specifically for improving blood flow AND mobility around reproductive organs. Improving blood flow and circulation to those organs is important again for contributing to reducing those adhesions, but also because blood carries nutrients with it and when something is overly tight (like something with adhesions), then it typically lacks in blood flow and circulation, so increasing that blood flow to the area is part of the puzzle to removing or reducing those adhesions.
Consider making the following exercises a new daily habit for improved blood flow and mobility to your reproductive organs if you’re looking to improve your fertility:
Diaphragmatic breathing
Cat cow
Child’s pose
Happy baby
Combining diaphragmatic breathing while doing the other three exercises is recommended! If you’re not sure where to start with diaphragmatic breathing, make sure to click HERE for a great demonstration of how to do deep core breathing (AKA diaphragmatic breathing).
Manual Techniques to Improve Fertility:
In the same way that physical activity, exercises, mobility, stretches and other can improve blood flow in an active way, manual techniques (like massage) can improve blood flow and reduce adhesions in an inactive way. And don’t just take it from me..there are studies that show these benefits! A 2014 study examined 1,392 women with infertility issues, such as occluded fallopian tubes, hormonal dysfunction, and endometriosis. The manual physical therapy protocol focused on restoring mobility to structures affecting reproductive function. Results showed a 60.85% rate of clearing occluded fallopian tubes, with a 56.64% pregnancy rate in those patients. Additionally, a 42.81% pregnancy rate was observed in patients with endometriosis. A really amazing study!
Another article from 2004 assessed the effectiveness of site-specific manual soft tissue therapy in facilitating natural fertility and enhancing in vitro fertilization (IVF) pregnancy rates in women with histories indicating abdominopelvic adhesion formation. Among the natural fertility group, 71.4% became pregnant within one year, and 64.3% reported full-term deliveries. In the pre-IVF group, clinical pregnancies were documented in 22 of 33 embryo transfers, significantly higher than the expected number.
Lastly, there was a small case series from 2012 which reported that 6 out of 10 previously infertile women conceived within three months after receiving various manual therapy techniques applied to the pelvic area. The findings suggest that manual therapy could be a viable treatment option for infertile women and warrant further investigation. Although this was a small study, and a case study at that, I do think it is still an important one to include and take note of.
To explain the way that adhesions can work a little bit better, oftentimes adhesions are just various types of tissue that bind together in a very tough and immobile way. In order for adhesions to be improved, they must first be broken apart in order to heal back together in a more normal and mobile way. It can be helpful to think about it like scar tissue. When there is an injury, if you let that injury heal on its own without intervention, it can oftentimes heal overly tight because the body is trying to be helpful and “protect” that injured area. However, long-term that overly tight healing is not always helpful.
This same thing can happen internally to or around our reproductive organs when there is an issue. Scar tissue/adhesions can develop and without intervention, they remain immobile, can cause blockages and may have experienced a prolonged time (or still experiencing) with lack of blood flow.
So, to address those adhesions (and in combination with the exercises above), I have three gentle massage techniques to try:
Abdominal Circles - Using lotion performing big circles around the abdomen from right to left for 1-2 minutes
Ovarian Massage - Gentle clockwise circles 15 times each side (your ovaries are about at the level of your front pelvic bones that protrude out)
Deep Manual Work Into the Uterus - Perform pressure downward onto the uterus (which is located deep in the pelvic bowl). This should not be painful! And this is an aspect of Mercier Therapy that seeing an in person provider can provide a lot of benefit.
I just did a post on this recently and you can find that right HERE!
I hope after reading this blog you learned something useful for your journey and things you can look into deeper for you individual scenario. Sending you love wherever you are at in your journey or if you are the one helping someone else through it!\
MERCIER THERAPY PROVIDER LIST: Head to THIS link for a list of providers in your area.
Mind Body Core
My two main programs include a fully comprehensive prenatal and postpartum program that are designed to support you through both experiences, heal pelvic floor and deep core dysfunctions and guide you through some major life experiences that often can be times of life with minimal to no support. If this is a place where you are currently at, make sure to click the button below to take a further look into both programs!
If you are not pregnant or postpartum and are reading this blog because you are struggling with your fertility, I would love to provide you with an alternative resource called Mercier Therapy, which is an all-natural fertility treatment. If this term or treatment is new to you, make sure to check out my blog post that discusses this treatment a little further if you are looking for alternative avenues.