It’s sensible to view the pelvis as part of the spine since it seamlessly engages and interacts with the lower back. The sacrum is the very bottom of the spine and is composed of 5 fused vertebrae directly engaging to the large bones of the pelvis.  It can often be hard to differentiate pelvis and lower back pain due to the amount of overlapping anatomical structures (joints). As a chiropractor, I am deeply knowledgeable on how the spine and  pelvis are intricately connected – and best treated to resolve pain.  

I can design a treatment plan that restores balance and homeostasis to your pelvis, allowing for speedy healing, pain free movement, and minimizes the risk of a relapse.  Chiropractic techniques may include:

• Spine and pelvis adjustments to promote optimal alignment and healing potential
• Manual therapy eliminating stiffness and pain 
• Pain relief modalities such as electrical stimulation, light therapy, traction, and more
• Exercise training to promote better core/pelvic strength and coordination
• Posture training to improve spine alignment and lessen risk of future chronic pain problems
• Lifestyle recommendations to optimize your overall health and reduce strain on the musculoskeletal system- such as sleep habits, exercise, diet, and stress management

However supplementing chiropractic treatment for pelvic pain with other holistic treatments optimizes the flow of nerve energy within the entire body, accelerates the restoring of balance in the pelvis, and relieves pelvic pain long term.  

Feeling confident and in control of your pelvic health starts with understanding the underlying cause of pelvic pain. Below is a detailed explanation on how craniosacral therapy is an ideal non-pharmacological treatment to eliminate pelvic pain and your starting point to consider the holistic care available to achieve the best possible wellness outcomes for you.

The Basics of Pelvic Pain 

Eventually to some measure, both men and women experience pain between the abdomen and thighs, throughout the lower part of the abdomen, butt, and groin area.  This is commonly known as pelvic girdle pain (PGP) or simply pelvic pain and can be dull or sharp, spread throughout a large area or precisely localized.  

For example with pulled muscles, pelvic pain strikes abruptly.  Sudden sharp pelvic pain in the lower abdomen can indicate a hernia where a portion of intestine or other tissue protrudes through a weak point in muscles, often forming a painful bulge.  These “acute cases” surface when muscles are strained from lifting objects, laughing, or coughing – thereby causing pelvic pain to momentarily worsen. However with a bladder infection, digestive problems, or urinary tract infection, pelvic pain emerges gradually and builds, often becoming chronic until treated.

Pelvic Pain in Women:  Many women have pelvic pain but it is considered chronic if it continues to occur for more than 3 to 6 months.  Though pelvic pain can be gynecological in origin it can just as commonly result from digestive issues or musculoskeletal system issues – both of which is what I treat in women.   Examples of digestive tract disorders are gastroenteritis,  irritable bowel syndrome, and constipation.  Musculoskeletal disorders such as fibromyalgia or chronic myofascial pain (pain that is caused by tension and tenderness in areas of muscle called trigger points).  Symptoms vary of course but it often pelvic pain in women manifests as a sharp, stabbing sensation, similar to menstrual cramps, stemming from inflamed joints or muscles. 

Pelvic Pain in Men: Pelvic pain in men is commonly referred to as  “prostatitis”, indicating prostate inflammation.  The prostate is a gland about the size of a walnut positioned under the bladder and in front of the rectum. Pelvic pain can not only adversely affect the prostate and genitals themselves  but also the blood vessels, nerves, and other tissues producing regional pain within the pelvis and disrupting the healthy function of the anus and urethra.  Pelvic girdle pain in men is most commonly musculoskeletal in origin, stemming from impact traumas and/or strains of muscles and joints.  While pelvic pain in men can be painful and frustrating, know that in most cases it is 100% treatable. 

Pelvic Girdle Pain (PGP) & Pelvic Pain Explained

Pelvic girdle pain is common with pregnant women and research conducted by the Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology studied 123 pregnant women diagnosed with Pelvic Girdle Pain (PGP) and treated with craniosacral therapy.   The findings indicated women treated with craniosacral therapy experienced reduced levels of pelvic pain in comparison to the study control group that received only standard care.

Pelvic girdle pain (PGP) is the general term for all pelvic pain and encompasses pain anywhere from the lower back down to the hip and thigh, either at the front or back  that limits your daily activities.   Though the precise location and severity of Pelvic girdle pain symptoms can vary, the pain generally gets worse with certain movements, such as extensive walking, climbing stairs,  entering and exiting a car, and even turning over in bed.

Pelvic girdle pain is often due to misalignment of the joints of the pelvic girdle (pelvis) leading to friction between the sacrum and the hipbone and resulting in stiffness and pain.  This form of misalignment can also lead to deterioration and pain of the knee and hip joints due to repetitive and uneven weight bearing stress from the misalignment.

The entire pelvic girdle is held together mainly by connective ligaments and stabilized by the balanced actions of the muscles of the trunk, butt  and thigh. These muscles interact on the pelvis via their tendons and it’s the restrictions within the connective tissues (tendons,  ligaments, and fascia) that causes pelvic misalignment, eventually evolving into pelvic pain.   It’s essential to understand the role and function of the connective tissues:

• Tendons:  Situated between bone and muscles linking the strength in your muscles to your bones. Tendons enable your bones to move as your muscles relax and tighten. Injury, aging, overuse, and adverse health conditions, such as arthritis, can damage tendons. 
• Ligaments:  The pelvis is principally held together by 3 thick bands of connective tissue (ligaments) that engage one bone to another, particularly with the joints providing important stability.  The main purpose of the ligaments working with the joints is to act as a shock absorber reducing and stabilizing force loads for the spine above and from the lower extremities to the rest of the body.   Common causes of injury include direct heavy lifting, trauma,  childbirth, and gynecologic and urologic surgeries.   The ligaments can be stretched, partially or completely torn.
• Fascia: Our bodies consist of an all encompassing web of fascia, a delicate connective tissue promoting fluid movement of structures. Fascia is a thin membrane sheath enveloping and penetrating all structures throughout the body including nerves, muscles, blood vessels, organs, glands, tendons, ligaments, the spinal cord and more  – thus allowing a smooth gliding of these structures against one another.  Since fascia is meshed throughout the body, imagine it to be like a tablecloth where tugging one corner can smooth out and change the position of everything else on the table.  When fascia is unhealthy,  it’s clumpy, sticky, and  tight forming restrictions and distortions (muscle knots). The benefits of healthy fascia include:

• Enhanced body symmetry & alignment.
• Improved circulation & blood flow
• reduced appearance cellulite & stretch marks
• scar tissue breakdown
• reduced risk of injury
• less day-to-day pain
• improved sports performance

The important takeaway here is that trauma placed upon the spine, pelvis, or legs can create distortions (muscle knots) in the tendons, ligaments, and fascia of the pelvis resulting in misalignment to the pelvic girdle, followed by inflammation, and ultimately chronic pain.   Craniosacral therapy is a non-invasive hands-on gentle technique  using light touch to evaluate membranes and flow of the fluids throughout both the circulatory and central nervous systems.  The objective in a craniosacral therapy evaluation is to identify circulatory blockages and restrictions and facilitate release and relaxing of the body’s connective tissue, or “fascia.” 

Healthy fascia is wavy and relaxed tissue, but it can lose its malleability if damaged from the inflammation accompanying pelvic pain.   When damaged or unhealthy, fascial layers can tighten and restrict underlying tissue movement causing pain, limiting range of motion, and decreasing blood flow, or in sum, inflict severe pelvic girdle pain symptoms onto your body.

Recognizing Pelvic Trauma & How it Happens

The ring-like bony pelvis is held together by 3 thick bands of connective tissue (ligaments).  Even a mild disruption to the ring (due to trauma) can alter and misalign the integrity of the entire pelvis.  Symptoms that you’ve experienced a pelvic trauma include:

• Groin, lower back, hip, butt or pelvis tenderness & pain 
• Swelling & bruising in the pelvic bone region
• Tingling or numbness  in the  upper thighs or genital region 
• The presence of pain when sitting 

Common events that give rise to pelvic trauma include:

• The stress of pregnancy, labor, and birth can cause misalignment of the pelvis. 
• Direct trauma to the pelvis or spine, whiplash, abdominal surgery, scoliosis, either immediately, or months, or even years later.
• Many sports that involve twisting motions (golf, pickleball, tennis, skiing and more)  of the body creating a torque on the spine and pelvic girdle.  
• Seemingly benign activities such as poor posture when sitting all day at a desk or the incorrect type of seating, operating heavy equipment, or even extended time spent gardening may put a similar strain on the pelvic girdle. 

When the structures of the pelvic floor (fascia, muscles, ligaments, tendons and bones) become tight or weak due to trauma,  this can lead to:

• compressed nerves and decreased blood flow producing pelvic pain. 
• tight pelvic muscles attached to bones pulling them out of alignment producing & pelvic pain.
• muscle imbalance causing a tilted pelvis (misalignment) and lower back pain – due to the pelvic position of the spine and pelvis. Pelvic tilt misalignment forms a curvature of the lumbar spine leading to both pelvic and lower back pain.

Craniosacral Therapy for Pelvic Pain in New York City

By assessing the musculoskeletal system, fascia health, central nervous system I am able to create an individualized plan of care to address a patient’s weakness, tightness, malalignment, posture, scar tissue adherence, organ dysfunction, fascial restrictions, lymph/blood flow, nerve compression, and overall well-being.  I often treat identified problems contributing to pelvic misalignment, commonly the pelvis’ connective tissues (tendons,  ligaments, and fascia),  with Craniosacral Therapy,  Lymphatics Drainage Therapy and Myofascial Trigger Point Therapy.

When helping patients with pelvic pain, it is important to consider not just the physical symptoms but also the emotional symptoms.  Craniosacral Therapy can help the body to release somato emotional experiences. S.E.R. or Somato Emotional Release  is a component of CranioSacral Therapy centered around the belief emotional and physical trauma can have long-lasting effects on our muscles and joints. SER bodywork can help release those damaging tensions, both physical and mental associated with the pelvic pain you’re coping with

If you are experiencing pelvic pain, weakness, incontinence, and dysfunction, please know craniosacral therapy can help to decrease your symptoms and improve your quality of life. Find the balance within your body and work to restore the health of your pelvis and your physical and emotional well-being.

Craniosacral therapy can gently can help the body to recover from acute injuries and avoid chronic distortion and restrictions in the fascia, ligaments, tendons, and thereby enable the pelvis to realign with the body’s release of distortions embedded in the ligaments and tendons (from the injuries).  By treating you with craniosacral therapy, pelvic pain decreases or disappears all together, and movement becomes easier and more comfortable.

About Dr. Kaminsky & Craniosacral Therapy

Having a Chiropractic background since the year 2000, Dr. Kaminsky offers many methods of treatment with an emphasis on Craniosacral Therapy in NYC.

Craniosacral Therapy (CST) is a method focusing on the link between the cranium (head) and sacrum (the second to last bone at the base of your spine), scientifically proven to work in unison to pump fluid throughout the body, an unknown disruption of which can cause many health issues.  The craniosacral mechanism pumps vital fluid called cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF) through the body and in a sense energetically lubricates the joints, tissues, organs; basically all cells of the body. It is the driving force of all your body’s systems of function; including maintaining the tone of your muscles.

The Central Nervous System (brain and spinal cord) are surrounded with CSF generating energetic rhythmic impulses of fluid delicately pumping throughout your body’s parts “breathing” the movement of life. This measurable rhythm of moving fluid, like the heart rhythm, pulse rhythm, breathing rhythm is the foundational “blueprint” and primary principle of our real-time state of our health. 

Compromises of our rhythmic movements of fluid flow correlates to the impulse restrictions in the system which the body is unable to overcome or self-correct. This is the reason why we have “dis-ease”, symptoms, conditions, basically all ailments.  This is where the skill of an experienced craniosacral therapist becomes valuable.  By placing his or her hands on your body the practitioner can feel, detect, evaluate, and facilitate correction of these restrictive arrhythmic impulses.

The craniosacral therapist helps your rhythm restore and renew in compromised areas allowing for healing to take place of sensory, motor, musculoskeletal, neurological disorders, symptoms, conditions and pain.  To learn more, visit the other pages on this website. Call to schedule your healing treatment with Dr. Kaminsky.