Massage therapist uses specialty program for abdominal, reproductive health - Grand Forks...

[massage]

But as a self-described “detective,” she researched the intricacies of infertility and discovered the healing properties of Mercier Therapy, a holistic therapy that focuses on reproductive organs, which led to a new career focus for the already licensed massage therapist.

“Six years ago, I don’t think I would’ve ever thought this is where I was going, but I do feel like now going through all that was obviously for a reason, because it brought me here,” says Harrison, certified Mercier Therapist and owner of Harrison Therapeutics in Grand Forks.

She and her husband were eventually able to become pregnant, and welcomed a baby boy in May 2014. The experience led Harrison on a path to become an even stronger advocate for women’s health through empowerment, education and Mercier Therapy techniques.

Mercier Therapy is a six-week holistic program that focuses on the manipulation of pelvic organs during 60-minute massage sessions. It can be used in preparation for certain medical procedures, after giving birth and to stimulate blood flow to reproductive organs. The therapy can also be used to soften scar tissue, for healing and to aid in the relief of painful cycles.

Harrison says people are often convinced Western medicine is the only way to solve major problems, such as in vitro fertilization, “but it’s just an option, it’s not the only option,” she reassures. “People don’t really know there are options.”

Make it personal
After marriage, Harrison and her husband planned to get pregnant immediately. She says they didn’t consider the possibility that having children might take time, and especially not three years.

After one year of zero progress, the couple met with doctors and completed a series of testing. “It was about two or three years that we worked with doctors, and it wasn’t fun — it was emotional and it was hard,” Harrison says.

Instead of feeling a closeness and special bond with her doctors, she says her case seemed to be lumped into a general group of women who were dealing with the same problem, which made the process feel impersonal. “Most of the doctors I talked to knew my name but didn’t know (my husband’s) name,” she says. “Everyone fit into the same category, regardless of health issues and reasons for those issues, and doctors would follow the same protocol for everybody.”

Harrison thought there had to be a better option, so her detective skills took over and she discovered Mercier Therapy, which works with individual needs and history, rather than as a one-size-fits-all process.

More than fertility
Created by Dr. Jennifer Mercier, who was diagnosed at a young age with endometriosis and attended massage therapy school, Mercier Therapy has been successful in healing or lessening the impact of various irregularities outside of reproductive health. The program can also heal or improve gastrointestinal disorders, irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn’s Disease and sexual function.

“When I got the training and certification, it just opened up a whole new world, to the natural aspects of our health as a whole,” Harrison says.

With the Pelvic Pain Program, trained therapists like Harrison can focus on deep visceral manipulation, which helps loosen tight, affected area of soft tissue, and lengthen ligaments that keep organs in place.

The six-week, hour-long regimen focuses on the abdomen, hips and lower back using hands-on techniques. The abdominal therapies can also be accompanied by herbal supplements, but are generally performed in addition to at-home patient care.

Harrison says it’s not uncommon for patients who have lived with health issues — such as painful periods — their entire lives to be hesitant with these programs, because they’re afraid or scared, and they’re unaware that less invasive options are available to help.

“They’ve lived their whole lives with this secret, and maybe they miss work because they’re sick, because they’re not talking to people about it, because we’ve been taught this is a very private issue,” she says. “It doesn’t have to be a secret, there’s help.”

She also says it’s not uncommon for clients to reach out for help on one particular health problem are surprised by the additional positive effects of the process. “I’ve had clients who come in for something, but lo and behold it helps something else,” she says.

Success
In 2014, Mercier Therapists concluded a four-year evidence-based study on fertility and those who used the six-week therapy. They found that 83 percent of fertility patients got pregnant within a year of starting.

“So, after six weeks of sessions, they’ll be done, but will continue with fertility coaching,” Harrison says.

It is the success that national Mercier-certified therapists find, but also the achievements Harrison sees in her own patients, that gives her confirmation that her work is positively impacting women and relieving them of their various health problems. Especially with infertility.

She says there’s nothing more reassuring than when her clients send her positive pregnancy test photos, because she understands the journey they’ve endured.

“When you’re going through it, it feels lonely, scary, confusing, frustrating,” she says. “You’re angry, you’re hurt, you feel betrayed by your body. I want to help women get out of that cyclical rut.”

While she’s known massage therapy has been her calling, Harrison wants to give particular focus to women’s health, and empower women to listen to their bodies. To be unafraid if they need help.

“I want women to find help,” she says. “I want them to know, when they go to their doctor, what questions to ask and how to be advocates for themselves. Why should we be in pain and act as if nothing’s wrong? We should feel good.”

To learn more about Harrison and Mercier Therapy, visit harrisontherapeutics.net or call 701-610-6003.

Let's block ads! (Why?)