Abdominal Post Surgical Adhesions and Recovery with the Wave Tool

Using the Wave Tool on post-surgery adhesions

Karen Williams https://www.kwilliamscreative.com/

After an unexpected abdominal surgery took me by surprise, I thought I was on the road to recovery. But after months of disruptive post-surgery pelvic pain, I realized my rebound wasn’t going to be as straightforward as expected. I needed to find a treatment for adhesions. This is the story of how the Wave Tool helped me combat adhesions and pelvic pain to regain my active lifestyle:

Like many women, I’ve spent many weeks gritting my teeth and pushing through pelvic pain during my monthly cycle. I'm used to discomfort while running, biking, or going to work.  But a little over a year ago, my pain tolerance was running low. My menstrual cramps were leaving me in bed for days at a time and I was experiencing pelvic pain just driving in the car. A routine check-up uncovered a six-centimeter tumor in my left ovary that was to blame for the pelvic pain. So, I was slotted for a minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery. During the procedure, the surgeon was unable to break up the tumor. This resulted in a larger than expected, 3-inch incision along my lower abdomen, a similar size to the average C-Section incision. Nonetheless, I was told my surgery recovery would be six weeks at the most. During discharge, the nurse told me to begin exercising when I felt ready but to stop if there was any pelvic pain.

The six-week mark came and I was finally cleared to exercise and enjoy life as I was used to. I excitedly hopped back to my workout of choice- climbing- and began training again. But something still didn’t feel right. I was experiencing pelvic pain like never before, and I had no clue why. Committed to recovering safely, I followed the doctors' orders and stopped activities if I felt pain. But it didn’t seem to make a difference. The pelvic pain I was experiencing caused pain when I was walking, using the restroom, and even stretching. I pushed on for the next five months, assuming my surgery recovery would get better with time and the pelvic pain would ease away.

But five months post-surgery, my pelvic pain was still leaving me feeling as if my abdomen was knitted together in all the wrong ways.  The scar from my incision was raised, uneven, and very sensitive to the touch. My doctor suggested I see a Pelvic Physical Therapist, so I decided it was time to see if there was something deeper going on. On my first visit to the PT, she opened my eyes to the root of my pelvic pain: adhesions.

What are adhesions?

Adhesions are bands of scar-like tissue that often occur after abdominal surgery. This build-up of tissue can lead to tissues and organs ‘sticking’ together. The signs of adhesions are exactly the pelvic pain symptoms I was feeling: cramping, tightness, decreased mobility, and lower pelvic pain and pressure. And the reality is that my pelvic pain wasn’t the worst thing that adhesions could cause. Abdominal adhesions have the strength to twist and pull organs and tissues so severely they cause bowel obstructions. Adhesions are a common risk, with 9 out of 10 people developing them post-abdominal surgery.  The tricky thing? Adhesions are hard to definitively diagnose. This can leave some people (like me) confused when ultrasounds and MRI’s come back with no red flags, but the pelvic pain persists. Treatment for adhesions can also be difficult to find and abdominal adhesion pain relief is often invasive.

Is there treatment for adhesions causing pelvic pain?

After my pelvic physical therapist brought adhesions to my attention, we discussed possible treatment for adhesions. Often, severe pelvic pain that is thought to be caused by adhesions will result in a laparoscopic surgery to remove them. But, adhesions often re-develop after the surgery. For me, this didn’t seem like a viable treatment for adhesions. I wasn’t ready for another surgery, especially with no guarantee that it was a sure-fire cure. I was on the search for a non-invasive treatment for adhesions. Discussion with my PT led us to work on some manual therapy (soft tissue massage of the area where adhesions were present). Unfortunately, only 2 weeks of treatment passed before the Physical Therapy office was forced to halt visits due to the covid-19 crisis. I hadn’t yet felt any major shifts in how my adhesions were feeling, but I’d been hopeful for what several months of work might bring.  Now, I was left to deal with my treatment for adhesions- at home.  

IASTM treatment for adhesions

In my newly virtual world, I began searching anew for any sort of at-home treatment for adhesions that was out there. I was hopeful about continuing the manual therapy (self-massage) for pelvic pain that my PT had begun by myself. But I was curious if there were any tools that might make this self-care treatment for adhesions more effective.  With this in mind, I stumbled upon the field of IASTM. 

IASTM stands for Instrument-Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization. IASTM instruments, such as the Wave Tool, use an edge to break up adhesions and stimulate the body’s natural process of remodeling and repair. By stimulating connective tissue remodeling,  the repair and regeneration of healthy collagen through use of IASTM instruments works to release and break down adhesions. Research in the field of IASTM is still fairly new. However, the studies that have been done show positive potential for using IASTM in the treatment of adhesions. In one study, it was found that just six sessions of using IASTM tools for five minutes can significantly decrease the pressure pain threshold for a trigger point. Studies also point to increased mobility and reduction of pain after using IASTM tools.

I began using the Wave Tool IASTM tool hesitantly, as I was accustomed to feeling pain from even a moderate touch to my scar.  I was unsure if this would work as a treatment for adhesions. What pleasantly surprised me was the smooth and non-abrasive nature of the Wave Tool. I’d been worried about trying to take my treatment for adhesions into my own hands, but I began to greatly appreciate being able to work with my body on its own terms. Because the Wave Tool has multiple edges to work with, I began with a less sharp side to get comfortable. After only a few sessions, I was amazed at how much less sensitive my scar was. I'd spent months hardly being able to wear certain clothes that rubbed the scar. But I was quickly able to use the most intense side of the Wave Tool on my scar with no pain. Best of all?  After a few months of use, my pelvic pain was significantly reduced.  Things I’d become accustomed to doing with a twinge of pain, like climbing and ab workouts, were back on the table. The last thing I’d expected after almost a year of pelvic pain was to find the solution in my own hands, but the Wave Tool was just that.

This is only one story, but the research backing IASTM tools shows that my success wasn’t a fluke.  Treatment for adhesions is more simple than you might think- even during a pandemic!

Ready to be pelvic pain free? Get your Wave Tool now.