As a pelvic floor physical therapist, I see a lot of patients in my office who are experiencing constipation, bloating, gas, and general abdominal discomfort. Sometimes these symptoms come and go, and other times they are pretty consistent.

There are a lot of things we discuss that may be contributing to their symptoms such as diet, hydration, and stress. In many cases, I refer these patients to other providers to address things that are outside of my scope while we work together. A team approach to constipation and bloating is incredibly helpful!

In my office we often work on bowel mechanics, reducing abdominal and pelvic floor tension, general movement and exercise, and managing intra-abdominal pressure. Visceral manipulation is also an incredibly helpful tool to reduce constipation and bloating.

Why visceral manipulation may be an effective treatment for constipation and gut symptoms

From the moment you ingest food or fluids, your organs work hard to break down and process these substances as they move from your mouth down your esophagus and through your digestive tract. If there are fascial restrictions or abnormal motility in these organs, it can cause referred pain in your musculoskeletal system (such as shoulder pain, back pain, or sciatica), and can also affect how efficiently your body breaks down and processes food.

If you imagine there is dysfunction along the tract that slows down the transit of food as it breaks down, your stool may be hard and more difficult to pass by the time it reaches your rectum. This means greater strain on your pelvic floor during bowel movements.

The goal of visceral manipulation is to restore normal mobility and motility in the organs addressed. This helps the body break down and process food efficiently, reduce bloating, gas, and constipation, and reduce any referred pain that may be present.

So how do we treat your digestive system with visceral manipulation? It depends! 

Because your digestive system is quite long, and because it interacts with other organs along the way (your liver, gallbladder, and pancreas), it is important that we assess where the primary restriction is located. I do this through a process called listening. Once I identify the area of restriction, I’ll apply gentle and specific techniques to the area to reduce these restrictions and restore normal movement. 

The specific hands on techniques done in person are incredibly helpful when addressing constipation and bloating. If you are located in Memphis, I treat patients at my offices located in Collierville and East Memphis! If you are not in the Memphis area, you can find a Barral trained visceral practitioner here.

What can I do at home?

There are a few self-mobilization techniques that can be helpful to improve digestion as well. These are more general techniques than what I do with patients in the office, but can still be very effective!

Self colon massage - this is a simple self abdominal massage you can do at home. You can do this in the shower with soap or use some lotion. You do not need to apply much pressure - be gentle!

Abdominal sphincters - the abdominal sphincters are valve like structures that control the rate substances pass from one location to another. This gentle massage technique can help stimulate the sphincters to improve function.

Myofascial cupping - cupping is a great way to reduce soft tissue tension. Try this technique if you are feeling bloated or constipated. This is also great over scars (c-section scars, appendectomies, etc). You can get a set of cups for home here.

Want to learn more about ways to reduce constipation and improve bowel health? Check out this blog post.

Blog post written by Dr. Alexis Hutchison, PT, DPT, OCS

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