A Headache in the Pelvis

pelvic floor therapy as treatment for AF

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A Headache in the Pelvis

Postby dmcff » 21 Aug 2017, 09:39

The book A Headache in the Pelvis, by David Wise, Ph.D. and Rodney Anderson, M.D., has been briefly discussed on the AF Support Forum before, and I wondered if any current forum members have read it, have an opinion about it, or have followed the Wise-Anderson Protocol as a treatment for anal fissure.

I'm currently at the point where I feel that I've nearly exhausted the possibilities of conservative treatment for AF, and am faced with the dilemma of choosing some alternative approach - either Botox and surgery, or a pelvic floor-oriented method like the one outlined by the authors of the book, who turn some of the accepted wisdom about the treatment of AF on its head. In one passage, they write:
The surgical concept for anal fissures is based on the peculiar idea that cutting the sphincter is the best way to reduce the tone, tension and spasm in the anal sphincter. While surgery can be successful, there is a risk of short-term and sometimes long-term fecal incontinence.

In the large majority of cases, it is the chronic tension in the pelvic floor, including the anal sphincter, usually combined with diet, anxiety and time urgency around bowel habits that strongly contributes to constipation, anal fissures and hemorrhoids. The chronic pelvic tension, diet, and bowel habits associated with most constipation, anal fissures and hemorrhoids do not come out of the blue. In a word, a person’s mind, body, and lifestyle are involved in the creation and perpetuation of these conditions.

I should add that I have no connection with the book's authors, and my interest is based solely on curiosity and the need to find some form of physical and psychological therapy that works for me - and others.
2014 Anal fissure
2015 CAT, EUA, sigmoidoscopy, 2 MRI
2016 Pain severe then moderate to low
2017 Moderate pain
2018 Physical therapy, pain management
2019-20 Living with it
2021 Still AF
2022 Therapy, meditation
2023 Onward, up
2024 CT scan
dmcff
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Re: A Headache in the Pelvis

Postby patience_and_healing » 21 Aug 2017, 22:47

I can confirm that pelvic floor therapy helped a lot with my pain from the fissure. The internal sphincter doesn't exist in isolation but is affected by the muscles around it. I don't know if it's a permanent solution though.
8/16-12/16: Fissure due to antibiotics
5/17: Botox to sphincter, fissure healed
9/19: Trigger point injections and pudendal nerve block
11/19: Botox to pelvic floor
8/20: Botox to pelvic floor in new location.
On and off in pelvic physical therapy
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Re: A Headache in the Pelvis

Postby dmcff » 22 Aug 2017, 09:00

I guess in a sense it's a case of what one believes will be helpful in bringing about healing and relief from pain. I'm not yet convinced that pelvic floor therapy will really help me, but on the other hand I'm now aware of the limitations of traditional medicine, conservative or surgical, in the treatment of conditions like AF and pelvic floor dysfunction. Being told that the problem is all in one's mind (as one doctor tried to convince me) is no solution, and indeed becomes a source of increased anxiety - while the approach that advocates the mere cutting of a muscle as a solution doesn't necessarily spark much confidence, either. There has to be a method of treatment that combines the physical with the psychological and spiritual, and I'm coming to the conclusion that I am still looking for it.
2014 Anal fissure
2015 CAT, EUA, sigmoidoscopy, 2 MRI
2016 Pain severe then moderate to low
2017 Moderate pain
2018 Physical therapy, pain management
2019-20 Living with it
2021 Still AF
2022 Therapy, meditation
2023 Onward, up
2024 CT scan
dmcff
Moderator
 
Posts: 424
Topics: 52
Joined: 07 Jul 2015, 08:49
Location: Kent, U.K.
Has thanked: 69 times
Been thanked: 52 times
Gender: Male


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