Women’s Health Article

John F. Barnes, PT, our teacher and mentor for Myofascial Release, presented a Women’s Health Seminar August 25th-28th in Sedona, AZ. Kristi, Danica and Michael “bravely” participated while I “safely” assisted the course. I wanted to share a bit of our experience at the seminar but feel it may be helpful to give you a little background regarding my introduction to pelvic floor treatment and training in the area of women’s health prior to describing the events of the weekend.

I was first introduced to treating the female pelvic floor internally in my first Skill Enhancement Seminar with John Barnes, PT back in 1988. A Skill Enhancement Seminar is where the therapist trains one on one with John and his team. This usually occurs shortly after taking MFR 1 and the intention is to deepen and help develop our sense of feel and touch by getting direct feedback from skilled therapists and their patients. I remember two patients that I saw with John on the first day of my week there as if it were yesterday. These experiences changed the way I would practice physical therapy for the rest of my career.

The first woman was a new patient who had a 20+ year history of back and tailbone pain. The main detail that I remember is her telling John about falling hard on her tailbone when a rope swing suddenly broke. She had seen a very impressive array of physicians and had many unsuccessful treatments over the years. Like many that I would see at the Myofascial Release Treatment Center that week and over the years to come, this woman had everything on the line with hopes to change the pain that had been dominating her life for so long. John immediately explained the internal treatment to her and although she had no prior knowledge or understanding of this treatment, she immediately trusted and allowed John to assess and treat her. During the evaluation, John would explain to me what he was feeling and how it could be relevant to her pain. He did a tailbone release during the evaluation process. The next day I was able to witness the dramatic change from that one treatment.

The second patient had already been receiving treatment from John and the staff. She was very excited to have me understand how important the treatment was to her. She was a Pastor’s wife and considered herself very conservative (she also wanted me to know this). She told me due to injury during childbirth she had been unable to sit. She remembered always having to stand in the back of church with her children during the Sunday services. At the time of her treatment, her children
were grown and she had been living with her pain and injury for many years. The internal treatment had allowed her to sit easily without pain and her current treatments were correcting residual muscle and structural imbalances. I was very impressed.

A Skill Enhancement Seminar at the Myofascial Release Treatment Center includes a daily treatment for the student/therapist. Myofascial Release is a very “experiential” treatment. We as therapists have to be willing to receive the treatment and feel it in our bodies to understand how it can affect us. Gaining skill level and experience with this treatment is not a passive process! So, at the end of the day, I was assessed and treated. My evaluation uncovered pelvic rotations and I was treated internally. I remember to this day how it felt when I got off the treatment table. I felt like I had about a foot of air between my feet and the floor. I had so much energy that I was up all night, but not at all tired the next day. The bladder urgency and frequency that I had been living with since my 2nd child was born was very different after just one treatment! I was sold!

Over the years that followed, I participated in numerous Skill Enhancement Seminars training directly with John Barnes in assessing and treating specific pelvic floor disorders as well as continuing my own treatments. I expanded my education by taking 3 seminars through the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) on Women’s Health/Men’s Health for pelvic floor evaluation and treatment.

Prior to the Women’s Health Seminar, John and his staff instructed therapists in internal treatment at the Myofascial Release Treatment Centers during the Skill Enhancement Seminar. APTA seminars are didactic in nature-a lot of anatomy and physiology with little to no treatment-very safe and unthreatening for therapists to participate. John’s seminar was 90% treatment-the therapist had to be willing to receive 4 full days of direct pelvic floor treatment.

Men were allowed to participate in the seminar but they had to bring their own female partner. The first day of the seminar included in depth review of pelvic floor anatomy as well as a review of the supporting structures. Torsions of the pelvis occur in 90-95% of women. This is partly because a women’s pelvis is wider and the joint surfaces are flatter. Tightness in the muscles on the front of the thighs can cause the pelvis to rotate which shortens and weakens the muscles
on the back of the thighs causing spinal and joint space compression. Some of the techniques that we practiced would help the following problems: bowel and bladder dysfunction, pelvic pain and dysfunction, menstrual dysfunction, infertility and breast pain. We also addressed the underlying psycho-emotional roots of pelvic pain and dysfunction ranging from direct trauma to physical and emotional abuse issues.

We are thankful to John F. Barnes, PT for his continued commitment to providing opportunities for us to grow as therapists while participating fully in our own healing process. Kudos to Kristi, Danica and Michael. They participated without hesitation in their dual therapist/patient roles. We all come back to Hands on Physical Therapy with a deep knowledge to share with our patients. You, our patients, can also trust that we understand on a very personal level, the depths of what this treatment can uncover. Once again-thank you for trusting us with your care.

Jody Hendryx, PT