Larry Wurn, Research Director of Clear Passage Therapies, discusses manual physical therapy (Wurn Technique) to treat internal adhesions and scarring.

Adhesions naturally form as part of the healing process after an infection, inflammation, surgery, or trauma.  Unfortunately, the body has no natural way to dissolve adhesions. As such, they can cause pain or dysfunction, including nearly half of all female infertility.

Clear Passage Physical Therapy is designed to decrease internal adhesions, reduce pain, and increase function, naturally and permanently.

adhesions in abdomen

Click here to download the free ebook,  Chapters Two and Three: How Adhesions Form in the Body’s Structure from “Miracle Moms.” (http://www.clearpassage.com/resources/ebook.php)

“Miracle Moms, Better Sex, Less Pain” by Larry and Belinda Wurn with Richard King, MD is available now at amazon.com (Med-Art Press). Foreword by New York Times best-selling author Christiane Northrup, MD and endorsed by physicians from Harvard, Columbia, Northwestern, and other fine professionals.

Dr. Leslie Mendoza Temple, Family Medicine Instructor, Northwestern University Medical School, and Medical Director, Integrative Medicine NorthShore University HealthSystem says, “I am excited to see that you have studied and perfected a technique to treat adhesions, with years of experience, scientific ‘backup’ and case studies to prove it. This technique makes sense: to put ‘hands on’ the problem and nurture the body’s innate desire to heal from pelvic pain, hormonal imbalance, endometriosis, infertility, and related dysfunction. Read this book if you suffer from pelvic or digestive disorders, or if you are a doctor who sees patients with these problems.” Read more reviews from top physicians, authors, and other respected professionals.

Larry Wurn, Research Director of Clear Passage Therapies, discusses manual therapy (Wurn Technique) to treat abdominal adhesions and small bowel obstruction without surgery. In the video, a patient discusses her recurring battle with adhesions and bowel obstructions and how Clear Passage Therapies saved her.

Adhesions in abdomen after surgery

Click here to download the free ebook, chapter 16  “Surgical Adhesions, Small Bowel Obstructions” from “Miracle Moms.” Includes theory, research, and heart-warming stories from individuals struggling with surgical adhesion pain and small bowel obstructions.
(http://www.clearpassage.com/resources/ebook.php)

“Miracle Moms, Better Sex, Less Pain” by Larry and Belinda Wurn with Richard King, MD is available now at amazon.com (Med-Art Press). Foreword by New York Times best-selling author Christiane Northrup, MD  and endorsed by physicians from Harvard, Columbia, Northwestern, and other fine professionals.

Dr. Jacques Moritz, Director of Endoscopy Section and Division of Gynecology, St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center says, “As a gynecological surgeon I have seen first hand what happens after I operate on patients. As much as I try to prevent adhesions I know that most patients after surgery are going to develop some form of adhesive disease. In the past treatment for adhesions has been even more surgery which caused even more adhesions. Now with the amazing “Clear Passage” technique patients have a safe and effective alternative to surgery. “

By Jackie

An episiotomy is a surgical incision of the perineum (the area between the vagina and the anus) that is made while a woman is giving birth in order to enlarge the vaginal opening for delivery. Following the birth, the doctor then sutures the area closed. After a few weeks, most women no longer experience pain around their stitches, though doctors generally recommend that a woman wait six weeks to have sex again.

When women continue to experience pain near the episiotomy site after six weeks has passed, it is a sign that adhesions may have formed. When any part of the body is injured, collagen rushes to the area to contain incoming bacteria, prevent the loss of blood, and enable the area to be healed. However, this sticky collagen builds to form adhesions that can also adhere to neighboring structures or constrict the tissues it covers.

Women who have episiotomies experience trauma to the peritoneum, pelvic floor muscle, and vagina. If the pelvic floor muscle has adhesions, a woman may experience pelvic pain, painful intercourse, urinary incontinence, and infertility (see Secondary Infertility). The peritoneum and vagina are very pain-sensitive structures and minimal adhesion formation can cause great pain, especially during intercourse or urination.

The “hands-on” work practiced at Clear Passage Therapies® clinics (see What is the Wurn Technique?) is designed to reduce or eliminate adhesions, crosslink by crosslink. After treatment, many women find that the constant pulling or tightness sensation is gone, intercourse pain is eliminated, and sexual function is increased (for more info, read The G-Spot and Sexual Dysfunction).

By Jackie

According to a large study by Anesthesiology (2007), roughly 32% of women who undergo hysterectomies will experience chronic pelvic pain that lasts for over a year after hysterectomies. Many women also report painful intercourse and sexual dysfunction, such as poor lubrication or decreased desire, after their hysterectomies.

In a study conducted by the  Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology, scientists performed second-look surgery on women who reported chronic pain after their hysterectomy. One of their common findings was adhesions. Adhesions are filmy bands of collagen that form as an integral part of the healing process in the body. Adhesions enable the tissues of the body to seal after a hysterectomy. But these adhesions can also bind other organs, tissues, and structures together, causing uncomfortable pain and pulling.

Belinda Wurn, the founder of Clear Passage Therapies, experienced the devastating affects of adhesions herself when she underwent treatment for cervical cancer. A portion of her cervix was removed and she received a grueling regimen of radiation therapy. Although medical intervention saved her life, the surgery and radiation therapy caused adhesions to form. Within a year, Belinda experienced a constant pulling sensation that gradually developed into chronic pelvic pain and sexual dysfunction.

Belinda and her husband, Larry, sought medical help, but all doctors could offer her was a repeat surgery. Belinda and Larry then traveled the world, learning new manual physical therapy techniques to reduce Belinda’s pain. Her pain gradually decreased and she eventually found herself free from pain.

Belinda and Larry decided to utilize their new knowledge and opened Clear Passage Therapies to help women who experienced pain and dysfunction due to adhesions, including women who underwent hysterectomies. You can read the story of a former patient, Katrina, who underwent a partial hysterectomy and later experienced adhesions that blocked her small bowels. If you would like to learn more about our treatment for pain and dysfunction after hysterectomies, please visit our post-surgical pain page.

By Jackie

Maintaining a sexually satisfying relationship can be difficult for couples struggling with infertility.  Judith C. Daniluk, author of an article entitled, “Keeping Your Sex Life Alive While Coping with Infertility” explains that, “Infertility affects a person’s feelings about themselves – their masculinity or femininity, their self worth, their self esteem, their body.”

Many women experience a deterioration of sexual satisfaction during infertility treatments, often related to feelings of disappointment, guilt, or low self esteem. These feelings can decrease a woman’s sexual desire, arousal, ability to lubricate, and overall satisfaction.

A study published by Fertility and Sterility (October 2007) found that women experience greater levels of anxiety and sexual stress due to infertility than men. For some women, infertility treatments directly decrease desire and arousal because of altered hormonal levels.

Although these articles and studies show that decreased sexual satisfaction can be related to emotional and mental health, it is imperative that women know sexual dysfunction or painful intercourse is not always, “all in your head.”

At CPT, we often find that female infertility and sexual dysfunction are physically linked. Frequently, a woman will experience a common event such as a car accident, vaginal infection, STD, sexual abuse, or surgery that causes adhesions to form within the reproductive tract. These adhesions can lead to infertility by restricting or pulling the fallopian tubes, ovaries, uterus, and vagina. Although some women may not initially experience any pain or sexual dysfunction at the time, the continued pulling and restriction can cause more adhesions to form, eventually resulting in painful intercourse and sexual dysfunction six to twelve months later. Because of the delayed onset, women often do not see the connection between their infertility and sexual dysfunction.

CPT therapists see sexual dysfunction as a clue to discover the cause of a woman’s infertility. We often ask patients, “When did your sexual dysfunction begin? How often does it occur? Are you experiencing trouble with arousal, desire, satisfaction, orgasm, pain, or lubrication? In what sexual positions does sex hurt? Where exactly does it hurt and what does it feel like?”

The answers to these questions shape our individualized treatment for each woman. Many women find that when we resolve the cause of their infertility, we also resolve the cause of their sexual dysfunction and pain.

To learn more about our treatment, please visit our sexual dysfunction page, painful intercourse page, or female infertility page.

By Jackie

Adhesions can be extremely difficult for a doctor to diagnose because adhesions are frequently microscopic and within organs and tissues – meaning they do not show-up on diagnostic tests. Doctors commonly need to directly visualize adhesions during surgery to make a definitive diagnosis. However, surgery itself can cause more adhesions to form.

Is there a way to recognize adhesions without going through risky procedures? Based on 20 years of clinical experience, CPT physical therapists say yes. Through years of training, CPT therapists can recognize adhesions by feeling and examining a patient’s body. They know what proper organ and tissue structure and mobility feel like and can quickly ascertain if adhesions are present. CPT therapists can also examine a patient’s posture to see if any imbalances or chronic poor posture patterns exist that commonly signal adhesion formation. Once adhesive patterns are found, CPT therapists work slowly and meticulously to break-apart the adhesions.

How can you recognize adhesions if you do not have the opportunity to be examined by a CPT therapist? Below are some clues that adhesions have formed in your body:

• Pain. If you experience any chronic or recurring pain, it is a sign that adhesions have formed. This includes back pain after a car accident or severe menstrual cramps.
• Dysfunction. If your body isn’t functioning as it once did, it is a sign that adhesions may have formed. Are you currently experiencing female infertility? Do you regularly experience incontinence? Or maybe you suddenly have more digestive problems, such as constipation or diarrhea? Many of these dysfunctions are commonly attributed to “aging,” but are actually due to adhesions.
• Tension. Areas of tension or tightness in your body signal that adhesions have formed. Adhesions can anchor previously mobile tissues and structures, creating an uncomfortable pulling sensation.
• Imbalance. Try looking at your shoulders in the mirror. Is one shoulder higher than the other? Or how about your hips? When you lie down, does one foot extend farther than the other? Imbalances in the body can be signs that adhesions have formed and are pulling on one part of the body.
• Previous Adhesion-Forming Events. The following common events frequently lead to adhesion formation:

• Chronic Poor Postures (sitting at a computer with a hunched back)
• Infection (Yeast, bladder, etc.)
• Inflammation (Endometriosis, PID, etc.)
• Radiation Therapy
• Surgery
• Trauma (Abuse, car accident, etc.)

If you suspect you have adhesions and would like to learn more about our treatment, please visit our adhesions page.

By Jackie

Each month, an egg grows in a tiny fluid-filled sac that bursts open during ovulation to release an egg. Sometimes, the sac doesn’t break open and continues to fill with fluid, forming a functional cyst (the most common type of cyst). A functional cyst generally goes away after one to three months, but if it doesn’t, a doctor made need to surgically remove the cyst. A doctor may also choose to operate if the cyst is painful, large, continues to grow, or is present with several other cysts.

Cysts can be removed through laparoscopic surgery or through laparotomy (open surgery), both of which can preserve a woman’s fertility. However, adhesions can form as a direct result of surgery. Adhesions are tiny strands of collagen that form after any injury to the body. Collagen rushes to the site to contain the area and help it heal. As the collagen builds, it forms an adhesion that remains throughout life. Adhesions that form near the ovaries or fallopian tubes can constrict these structures, causing multiple complications and infertility (please see adhesions and infertility). Thus, the surgery to remove ovarian cysts can cause a woman to experience infertility.

However, women who elect to not undergo surgery or whose cysts go away, may still experience infertility due to adhesions that formed as a response to the inflammation caused by the ovarian cyst.

At CPT, we specialize in reducing and breaking-apart adhesions with manual physical therapy techniques. We have been able to help numerous women become pregnant after years of infertility, previous surgeries, ovarian cysts, endometriosis, and other conditions.

One such patient was Jacqueline, who came to us for treatment after two surgeries to remove ovarian cysts. During her first surgery at age 22, her doctor removed 10% of one ovary and 60% of the other due to complex cysts. When Jacqueline and her husband later tried to conceive, they were dismayed to find they couldn’t become pregnant.

One year later, Jacqueline began experiencing severe pain in her abdomen. She went to the hospital and was rushed to emergency surgery to remove a peritoneal cyst. After the surgery, her surgeon told her, “We were able to remove the cyst, but your ovaries and fallopian tubes were buried by adhesions.”

After this startling diagnosis, Jacqueline searched for alternative treatments and found our clinic. We began treating her with our 20 hour treatment protocol, but she had to leave before treatment was finished due to a family emergency.

Before she returned to our clinic, she completed a few tests with her doctor. She had an ultrasound and learned that she no longer had any visible adhesions since our treatment. Her second test, an HSG, showed that her tubes were blocked with liquid (hydrosalpinx).

When Jacqueline returned for treatment, our therapists focused on her fallopian tubes. Afterward, Jacqueline finally became naturally pregnant and later gave birth to a full-term baby.

To learn more about our treatment for adhesions and infertility, please visit our female infertility page.

By Jackie

The 9th right of Dr. Carolyn Demarco’s A Woman’s Bill of Rights states, “I have a right to refuse any drug or surgical treatment.”

In the highly individualized and independent culture of the United States, many people do not have difficulty stating exactly what they want or don’t want. But for women who face chronic pain or infertility, their refusal of drugs or surgical treatment may mean they are out of conventional treatment options. This can be a very scary situation for any woman.

Reese, a former CPT patient, experienced this situation after multiple surgeries for bowel obstructions. Reese learned from her doctor in 2008 that abdominal adhesions had grown back for the 7th time after. She would need another surgery to remove the adhesions that were slowly blocking her intestines. Reese told us, “I did NOT want to live this way, having surgery after surgery just to stay alive.” However, Reese didn’t know what else she could do.

She had previously heard of Clear Passage Therapies (CPT) and contacted us for more information. Belinda Wurn, who founded CPT and has also experienced bowel obstructions, called Reese. After a lengthy conversation, Reese decided to attend treatment. Out therapists worked meticulously to decrease adhesions in her abdomen and free her intestines. After treatment, Reese reported, “I could barely believe how much better I felt. I was no longer near tears in pain with each breath and step I took! I had a total of five bowel movements that night and the next morning. I was beside myself!”

Reese’s full story will be featured in our upcoming book, Miracle Moms, Better Sex, Less Pain, along with the stories of other women who refused drugs or surgery for bowel obstructions, chronic pain, infertility, endometriosis, and many other conditions. Choosing to forego drugs or surgical treatment can be scary, but there are other treatment options available that work. To read an excerpt of a story about a woman who refused surgery to remove a fallopian tube blocked with hydrosalpinx, please see Resolving Hydrosalpinx. If you would like to learn more about our treatment for bowel obstructions, please visit our bowel adhesions page.