Inflammation and Endometriosis
“Endometriosis is not like other period problems. It’s not a hormonal condition like PMS and PCOS. It’s affected by hormones, yes, but fundamentally endometriosis is an inflammatory disease and probably an autoimmune disease.” From Dr. Lara Briden’s article Endometriosis: 5 Natural Treatments That Really Work.
Dr. Aviva Romm also has some wonderful tips on The Natural Approach to Endometriosis: Getting to Your Root Causes and says “Endometriosis typically progresses and worsens over time as the chronic inflammation leads to accumulation of scar tissue causing “adhesions” that cause the organs like the intestines and bladder to become fixed in place leading to frequent or even pain with bowel movements and urination, and painful sex.”
Abdominal Therapy
In addition to the suggestions from Dr. Lara Briden and Dr. Aviva Romm, I also recommend abdominal therapy from a trained abdominal therapist who has experience working with abdominal adhesions. I know Dr. Romm suggested Arvigo® Therapy to break up adhesions in the above article, but I wouldn’t say the goal is to “break-up” adhesions. With Arvigo® therapy, the goal is to actually restore uterine position and hemodynamics so the body has the best chance of maintaining homeostasis (balance within).
In the study, Abdominal Visceral Manipulation Prevents and Reduces Peritoneal Adhesions “It was concluded that visceral manipulation has a positive benefit not only of lysing adhesions but also of preventing them as well. Physiologically, visceral manipulation may decrease the formation of adhesions because it causes disruption of fibrin and inhibits fibroblast migration to the injured area. Additionally, the increase in fluid movement due to manipulation could have caused increased metabolite exchange and, as a result, fibrinolysis. Rats were not sedated during manipulation, and the force needed to mobilize abdominal contents did not elicit flinching, or biting. In fact, the investigators noted during manipulation that the rats became calm and allowed deep palpation and treatment.” I think this is important to note. Much can be done with low force. We definitely don’t want to cause more inflammation in a body already suffering from an inflammatory condition. “Breaking up” adhesions causes wounding and the potential for more adhesions to form. I prefer to work with the body’s intelligence. That’s why I created the Free The Belly-Self-Care for Working With Abdominal Restrictions and the Womb Care Course. I wanted to offer a low force way of working with abdominal adhesions for women who didn’t have a practitioner near them.
Castor Oil Packs
In the past, I have been hesitant about recommending castor oil packs (COP) for endometriosis because of the auto-immune component of endometriosis. My thinking was since COPs increase T11 cells and total lymphocytes I was worried it could make endometriosis symptoms worse. But after reading an article on endo news and learning that one or more studies found “reduced activity of cytotoxic T cells and NK cells, secretion of cytokines by T helper cells, and autoantibody production by B lymphocytes have been implicated in endometriosis.” If I’m reading the study titled Immunomodulation Through Castor Oil Packs correctly (disclaimer: I’m not a biologist), it looks like B lymphocytes (A type of white blood cell that makes antibodies) are decreased with COPs and T cells increased, so it makes sense that COPs are actually beneficial for those who have endometriosis.T11 activation results in the triggering of the cytolytic mechanism of NK cells (the dissolution or destruction of a cell). Did you get that? So, endo has an underactive immune function of T11 cells and NK cells and increased production of B cells. COP do the opposite…increase T11 cells and NK cells and decreases B cells.
Now there can be an individual unique response, so I suggest always listen to your body first, do it in doses your body can handle, and pay attention to its responses. A typical COP routine for endometriosis would be 3 times a week, 3 days in a row, with a break the rest of the week.
Endometriosis and Dioxins
“The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stated in its Draft Dioxin Reassessment (1994) that the “general population’s current body burdens and exposures of dioxin are already at levels which affect our health.” One of the health effects EPA specifically identified was “a higher probability of experiencing endometriosis and the reduced ability to withstand an immunological challenge.” From Endo and Dioxins by the Endometriosis Association. Dioxins are found in meat and dairy from animals who consume pesticide and herbicide-laden foods, fish from contaminated water, and in tampons and menstrual pads that are made of bleached cotton and rayon. Read more here.
Summary
- Follow Dr. Romm and Dr. Briden’s suggestions for reducing inflammation and getting to the root cause
- Receive abdominal therapy
- Castor oil packs
- Ditch the bleached cotton and rayon menstrual products
- Avoid dioxins and PCB exposure as much as possible
Resources:
The role of the B lymphocytes in endometriosis: A systematic review
Endometriosis, Immune Dysfunction, and the Microbiome
The Natural Approach: Getting to Your Root Causes
5 Natural Treatments That Really Work
Environmental Dioxins and Endometriosis
Nancy’s Nook Endometriosis Education Facebook Page educates patients, practitioners, and their loved ones about endometriosis with evidence-based information and resources. If you’re thinking about excision surgery, or just want to educate yourself this is the place to visit. Nancy’s Nook has lists of doctors who specialize in excision surgery.
If you’re in the Portland area, Dr. Rosenfield at the Pearl Women’s Health center specializes in excision surgery which is more effective than the more common practice of burning or cauterizing endometriosis.
I am not an Arvigo therapist, but I am an herbalist in Mexico and have learned from curanderas/midwives techniques for abdominal/womb adjustment (which is actually the basis for Arvigo, but with a lot less technical knowledge and specifications). I have also seen that for endometriosis, manual therapy is almost mandatory in addition to other techniques (in my case, herbs). I do wonder if there is a certain point of no return though. Or can you always improve life quality, even if the problem cannot be totally healed/symptoms eliminated?
What is then the relation between endometriosis and the way thiroid works?
Thanks 🙏
The thyroid and endo are totally linked – even only as the lack of bio available iodine is a factor in both