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.

By Jackie

Adhesions occur in response to injury, such as surgery, trauma, inflammation, or infection. When the injury occurs, collagen rushes to the area to contain the site. This “sticky” collagen can continue to thicken and form an adhesion. Because of its sticky nature, an adhesion can bind previously free and mobile structures together.

Adhesions can impair fertility in women in multiple ways. Adhesions located in the following areas have particularly detrimental affects:

• On internal and external uterine walls: These adhesions can cause irritation and inflammation in the uterus, leading to implantation problems or recurrent miscarriage. These adhesions are likely to form in woman who has had an IUD, D&C, abortion, or uterine surgery.
• In or around the fallopian tubes: These adhesions can constrict the fallopian tube, causing a blockage, hydrosalpinx, or ectopic pregnancy to occur. Women who have had fibroid surgery, pelvic inflammatory disease, or any sexually transmitted disease are particularly at risk
• On the surface of the ovaries: These adhesions can cover the ovary, preventing the release of an ovum or proper hormonal function. Women who have PCOS or have had a cyst removal have an increased risk
• Near the fimbrea: When adhesions form near the finger-like projections of the fallopian tube, they can prevent the fimbrea from grasping an egg. Women who have had chronic inflammation are at an increased risk.
• On or within the issues of the cervix: These adhesions can cause the cervix to constrict, preventing the passage of sperm. They can also cause uterine spasm. Women who experience deep intercourse pain frequently have adhesions in this area.
• On the pituitary: Located within in the cranium, the pituitary can be restricted by adhesions that pull on the cranial bones and dura of the spine. When this happens, the pituitary’s function is decreased, resulting in hormonal dysfunction. Women with chronic headaches are likely to have adhesions around the cranium.

Adhesions are particularly difficult for doctors to diagnose because they are often too small to be seen by diagnostic tests. Only through surgery can a surgeon visualize adhesions, and even then, he or she cannot see adhesions within organs.

Furthermore, women may not experience one of the tell-tale signs of adhesions formation – pain. Thus, even though a woman has had a yeast or bladder infection, an IUD, a motor vehicle accident, or childhood fall, she may never realize that adhesions formed and are negatively impacting her fertility.

At CPT, our therapists palpate the entire body to find adhered and restricted mobility. Through treating the entire body, they restore proper function and enable women to finally become pregnant. To read more about our treatment for infertility, please visit our adhesions and infertility page.

By Jackie

“In early 2004, I became pregnant for the first time,” Savannah told us. “But my husband and I were soon devastated when we learned it was an ectopic pregnancy.”

Ectopic pregnancy located in the fallopian tube

Once a woman experiences an ectopic pregnancy, her perspective of pregnancy is forever changed. The excitement of a positive pregnancy test can be quickly transformed to fear.

Doctors find that adhesions in or around the fallopian tubes can lead to ectopic pregnancies. After Savannah’s ectopic pregnancy, she underwent diagnostic laparoscopic surgery and her doctor found adhesions around her ovaries and fallopian tubes.

Her doctor removed what adhesions he could. Although Savannah trusted the hands of her doctor, she was still fearful that another ectopic pregnancy might occur.

While a surgeon can remove many adhesions, she or he may be unable to access or cut areas that would impair fertility. Furthermore, adhesions frequently re-grow as a direct result of the surgery.

Savannah told us, “I wanted to do everything I could to reduce adhesions and avoid another ectopic pregnancy.” She found our clinic and underwent our 20 hour treatment program. The day she returned home, Savannah became pregnant. Her ultrasound later showed her pregnancy was progressing as normal. Nine months later, she gave birth to a beautiful boy. Remarkably, she went on to have a second son.

Women shouldn’t have to fear another ectopic pregnancy due to adhesions. To learn more about treatment for adhesions, please visit our adhesions and infertility page.

By Jackie

Chlamydia, often know as the “silent” STD, can cause extensive scarring and adhesions within the female reproductive tract. Because Chlamydia produces relatively few noticeable symptoms, women are often unaware they have it until they struggle with infertility and undergo extensive diagnostic testing. Although doctors can cure Chlamydia with pharmaceuticals, the adhesions and scar tissue caused by the disease will remain in the body.

The only option conventional medicine can offer women with adhesions is laparoscopic surgery. However, surgery to open blocked fallopian tubes is not always successful. Furthermore, laparoscopic surgery itself can cause more adhesions and scar tissue to form.

Nicole, one of our former patients, struggled with just this problem. When Nicole and her husband couldn’t become pregnant after three years, they sought the help of a reproductive endocrinologist (RE). Her RE performed a series of tests. Nicole told us, “That when I found out I had an undetected STD, Chlamydia. It had caused scar tissue to form around and block my fallopian tubes.”

Her specialist recommended surgery to open the tubes or IVF. Nicole sought a second opinion with another RE who suspected she had fibroids in her uterus in addition to blocked tubes. He suggested she undergo a myomectomy to remove the fibroids and he would also try to open her blocked fallopian tubes at the same time. He successfully removed the fibroids, but he couldn’t open her tubes.

Nicole then tried three IVFs, all of which were unsuccessful or ended in miscarriage. Afterward, she heard about our clinic on an infertility chat site and decided to attend. After treatment, her HSG test showed her fallopian tubes were clear!

However, Nicole’s doctor encouraged her to undergo IVF. Nicole, concerned about her biological clock, she chose to undergo the procedure and told us, “At nine weeks, I discovered I had twins, but one passed away early in the pregnancy.” Nicole later gave birth to her baby girl, Joy.

Everyone was later surprised when Nicole became unexpectedly pregnant after the birth of Joy. Nicole exclaimed, “We didn’t try anything and we got pregnant!” Nicole’s tubes had indeed opened and she later gave birth to a little boy.

If you would like to read more about treatment for blocked fallopian tubes, please visit our blocked tubes page. Nicole’s story, along with the stories of 75 former patients, will be showcased in our upcoming book, Miracle Moms, Better Sex, Less Pain.

By Jackie

Unexplained female infertility can be an extremely frustrating diagnosis. As one patient told us, “At least when you know a cause, you can find an answer, or have something to battle against.”

When women come to our clinic with unexplained infertility, we dive into their medical and personal history. Women are often surprised when we ask about accidents in their childhood, such as falls. These events are pertinent because they can have a lasting impact on the body. When your body is injured, collagen rushes to the area to contain and repair the site. Collagen continues to build to help the area heal and eventually forms adhesions. Over time, the body will appear healed on the outside, but the adhesions will remain on the inside, often restricting and adhering previously mobile structures. A confounding problem for doctors is that adhesions do not show-up on diagnostic tests, unless extremely large.

At CPT, we sink our hands into the patient’s skin and palpate all organs and structures to feel if they are adhered or immobile. We then gently deform, detach, and break-apart the adhesions to restore mobility and function.

One of our former patients, Roxanne, underwent an appendectomy at age 10. Her doctor warned that the procedure could cause some internal scarring that could interfere with pregnancy. At age 30, Roxanne experienced difficulty conceiving. When she came to us for treatment, we focused on reducing adhesions in her reproductive tract and near the site of her surgery. Three months after treatment, she became pregnant naturally. She delivered a healthy baby girl and later had a second child.

Find out more about how adhesions impact fertility at our website.

Post-surgical adhesions can cause chronic pain and dysfunction if left untreated. In an upcoming book ‘Miracle Moms, Better Sex, Less Pain,’ researchers examine a non-surgical therapy developed to treat adhesions.

Gainesville, FL (PRWEB ) October 29, 2008 –Surgeries save lives, but they often create glue-like adhesions as the body heals from surgery. Post-surgical adhesions can cause pain and even life-threatening problems, such as bowels that become blocked and lose their function.

In an upcoming book, ‘Miracle Moms, Better Sex, Less Pain,’ researchers examine a non-surgical therapy (Wurn TechniqueÒ) that has decreased or eliminated adhesions in many patients, including abdominal adhesions and post- surgical adhesions.

Many pelvic and abdominal surgeries require repeat surgery – to remove the adhesions that formed from the earlier surgery. Abdominal adhesions occur in over 90% of patients after major abdominal surgery and pelvic adhesions occur in 55-100% of women who undergo pelvic surgery, according to a study in the journal ‘Digestive Surgery’ (2001). In a large study published in ‘Lancet’ (1999), over a third of patients who underwent major abdominal or pelvic surgery were re-hospitalized at least twice to treat adhesion related conditions.

The Wurn Technique® was created to treat the adhesions physical therapist Belinda Wurn developed after pelvic surgery. “I had double-over pain,” she said. “I could not work or stand up straight. It hurt to sit and even to breathe; the pain was always there.”

Wurn did not want to undergo a repeat surgery, knowing that more adhesions would likely form. Her husband, Larry Wurn, joined her in a search for a ‘hands-on’ answer. “We basically searched the world for an answer,” he said. “Each new piece we learned brought us that much closer to a cure.”

The Wurns have now published several studies on the manual physical therapy in peer-reviewed medical journals.

“Our biggest surprise was the variety of conditions that responded well to the therapy,” Belinda said. “Post-surgical pain patients responded well – then, we started seeing improvements in infertile women. When the therapy opened blocked fallopian tubes, we named our clinic Clear Passage Therapies.”

Studies in ‘Medscape General Medicine’ (2004) and ‘Fertility and Sterility’ (2006) showed that the therapy improved fertility and decreased or eliminated endometriosis and intercourse pain in most participants. In a study from ‘Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine’ (2008) the therapy opened blocked fallopian tubes in women who had been diagnosed infertile. Most had natural pregnancies after their tube(s) opened, and several had second natural pregnancies – indicating that the results of therapy lasted for years for some women.

‘Miracle Moms, Better Sex, Less Pain’ will be published this winter; Larry and Belinda Wurn with research gynecologist, Richard King, MD, are co-authoring the book. The table of contents is available at the Clear Passage Therapies blog to spur discussions with their readers on important topics. A free e-book excerpt from the book will be available soon at Clear Passage Therapies.

Belinda Wurn, PT, Clinical Director

Gainesville, FL (PRWEB) October 23, 2008 — Clear Passage Therapies®, a recognized leader in non-surgical treatment for female infertility, launches the new Clear Passage blog this week in honor of National Infertility Awareness Week.

Clinical Director, Belinda Wurn, says, “We hope this blog will become a resource for people to discuss and share advice on infertility, adhesions, and related health issues.”

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, an estimated six million women in the US experience infertility, and that number is growing. Ovulation problems account for a big part of female infertility; warning signs include irregular or absent menstruation. Adhesions and blocked fallopian tubes are also major causes of infertility. Fallopian tubes can become blocked by adhesions after surgery, trauma, infection, or inflammation.

Adhesions are a by-product of the healing process. Surgery (c-section, D&C, or other pelvic or abdominal surgery), trauma (auto accident, a fall, physical or sexual abuse), infection (bladder or yeast), and inflammation (endometriosis, pelvic inflammatory disease, or STD) can all cause adhesions to form in the female reproductive organs. After they attach and grow, they can restrict normal body function and cause pain and dysfunction, including nearly half of all female infertility.

“Our blog will highlight adhesions and infertility, as well as pain and dysfunction,” says Wurn. “We plan to offer educational podcasts, videos, and polls. Most importantly, bloggers will be able to post comments for discussion.”

Wurn believes the blog can play a pivotal role in helping women discuss important medical concerns. She states, “Twenty years ago, my body was left scared and in pain after surgery and radiation therapy for cervical cancer. I wish a forum like this had existed then where I could speak with other women and experts about the pain and sexual dysfunction I experienced.” Unable to find treatment to relieve her pain, Belinda and her husband, Larry, designed a manual physical therapy protocol that eventually helped her recover.

The Wurns are currently co-authoring a book, Miracle Moms, Better Sex, Less Pain, that examines their non-surgical manual physical therapy (Wurn Technique). The therapy has been shown to reduce adhesions, decrease pain, and restore function in peer-reviewed medical journals. It has proven effective for many people without the risks or side effects of surgery or drugs. It can be used as a stand-alone treatment or in conjunction with other infertility treatments.

The book will be published this winter and includes research gynecologist, Richard King, MD, as a co-author. The authors plan to provide the table of contents at the blog to open discussions with their readers on important topics. A free e-book excerpt from the book will also be available soon at clearpassage.com.

Gainesville, FL, April 3, 2006 — Millions of US couples suffer the heartache of infertility every year. Thanks to recent scientific research and the growing awareness of complementary fertility treatments, many women who were once infertile are celebrating this Mother’s Day in the seat of honor.

Sue Carlton, diagnosed infertile due to endometriosis and adhesions, is expecting her first baby this Mother’s Day. She says that the therapies she used with her medical treatments played a big role in her success.

Mother’s Day was one of the most difficult holidays for Lisa Thiesen. But after seven years of infertility and two heart-breaking miscarriages, Lisa and her husband Jeff are celebrating this year with their newborn daughter, thanks to a physical therapy treatment she says helped her become pregnant.

As scientific research grows, even infertility physicians are touting the use of physical therapy and other complementary therapies to assist couples in their quest to conceive. “Initial studies of a new physical therapy technique show promising results, and may benefit fertility specialists and their patients,” says Dr. Mark Kan, Reproductive Endocrinologist of Newport Fertility Center in California.

A study published by WebMD’s Medscape General Medicine showed that women who received a new “hands-on” physical therapy before in-vitro fertilization (IVF) had a 67% pregnancy rate, much higher than the 41% national average used as a control (P < .001). The same journal reported a 72% natural pregnancy rate for women infertile an average of five years before receiving this new therapy (www.clearpassage.com). “It appears to facilitate fertility in women with a wide array of unexplained or adhesion-related infertility,” says Dr. Richard King, Research Gynecologist at the Florida Medical and Research Institute.

Acupuncture, long respected in Eastern medicine, is also being recognized as an adjunct to fertility treatments in the West. Results from a German study showed that the use of acupuncture before IVF embryo transfer greatly enhanced the chance for pregnancy. More recent studies are confirming the role of acupuncture to improve reproductive status. “Acupuncture is used to treat a variety of fertility issues, at almost every age and stage in a woman’s cycle,” says Dr. Randine Lewis, licensed acupuncturist and author of “The Infertility Cure.” “It assists the entire reproductive system in achieving optimal health.”

Mind-body awareness is also on the rise in fertility circles. According to a study published by “Fertility and Sterility,” pregnancy rates for infertile women significantly increased with support group participation. “The tools we work with in our support circles give couples back a sense of control over their lives, and help them turn a crisis into a health enhancing opportunity,” says Julia Indichova, author of “Inconceivable” and creator of the Fertile Heartä Conceptions mind-body program. The program incorporates diet changes, movement, visualization, and other natural remedies.

Many women who have been unsuccessful in their family building efforts through the use of traditional medical techniques often give up hope of ever having a child. Complementary therapies, now bolstered by scientific research, offer a safe and effective adjunct to traditional treatments. For more information see www.clearpassage.com.

Newport Beach, CA, July 25, 2005/PRNewswire/ – A new infertility treatment, shown to be effective without drugs or surgery, is now available in the Western US. The therapy, known as the Wurn Technique® (patent pending), is a manual physical therapy treatment, similar to massage.

Previously available only in the eastern US, the therapy has been used as an adjunct to traditional infertility treatments for several years. It is now being offered at Clear Passage Therapies® in Orange County, California, between Los Angeles and San Diego. The new clinic will provide a valuable service for the nearly one in six couples throughout the Southwest who are struggling with infertility.

Medical studies published in Medscape General Medicine, Ob/Gyn & Women’s Health (6/04) show the therapy significantly increased pregnancy rates for women diagnosed infertile. Study participants who received therapy before undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) saw pregnancy rates climb to 67%, far above the 41% national average for IVF, as reported by the US Centers for Disease Control. “I am always looking for new approaches to benefit my patients’goals of becoming parents,” said Brian Acacio, MD, Medical Director of Sher Institute for Reproductive Medicine, Los Angeles. “This preliminary research shows improvement with this therapy. While additional studies need to be conducted, this is very exciting.”

In a related study, 71% of infertile women conceived naturally after therapy. “The therapy appears to facilitate fertility in women with a wide array of unexplained or adhesion-related infertility,” said Richard King, MD, an independent gynecologist and research physician. “Prior to receiving the therapy, patients in the natural therapy study reported infection, surgery, endometriosis, hormonal issues, unexplained infertility, and even blocked fallopian tubes. Most became pregnant naturally and delivered babies following therapy.” Women in both studies averaged 5 years of infertility.

No drugs or surgery are used with the therapy and side effects are generally positive. A third study published in Medscape (12/04) reported the therapy’s effectiveness in reducing intercourse pain and increasing sexual function in areas measurable by science, including desire [libido] and orgasm.

“I am pleased to offer this new therapy on the West Coast,” said Mary Cox, PT, Director of the California fertility clinic in Orange County. “I look forward to working with women and their physicians to resolve pelvic pain, and to improve success rates for infertility patients.”

Clear Passage is accepting patients for treatment and offering phone consultations (at no charge) toll free at 1-866-BABYHERE (1-866-222-9437). Clinics are currently located in Florida, Iowa, and California. More information is available at www.clearpassage.com.

DES MOINES, IA, June 6, 2005/PRNewswire/ — A new infertility treatment, shown to be effective without drugs or surgery, is now available in the Midwest. The therapy, known as the Wurn Technique® (patent pending), is a combination of manual physical therapy and massage techniques.

Women from across the country have successfully used this therapy as an alternative and adjunct to traditional infertility treatments for several years. It is now available to women and their physicians at Clear Passage Therapies® in Des Moines, Iowa. The clinic will provide a valuable service for the nearly one in six couples throughout the Midwest struggling with infertility.

Medical studies published in Medscape General Medicine, Ob/Gyn & Women’s Health (6/04) show this therapy significantly increased pregnancy rates for women diagnosed infertile. Study participants who received therapy before undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) saw pregnancy rates climb to 67%, far above the 41% national average for IVF, as reported by the CDC. Successes included women over 40 and several women who had failed to become pregnant in two or more IVF transfers before therapy.

In a related study, 71% of infertile women conceived naturally after therapy. Women in both studies averaged 5 years of infertility.

“The therapy appears to improve fertility in women with a wide array of unexplained or adhesion-related infertility,” said Richard King, MD, an independent gynecologist and research physician. “Successful study participants had histories including prior infection, surgery, endometriosis, hormonal issues, unexplained infertility, and even blocked fallopian tubes.”

No drugs or surgery are used with this therapy and side effects are generally positive. A third study published in Medscape (12/04) reported the therapy’s effectiveness in reducing painful intercourse and increasing sexual function, including desire (libido), and orgasm intensity and frequency.

Victoria Keinert, MPT, and Jean Nollen, PT are Founding Directors of the new Midwest fertility clinic in Des Moines. “We are pleased to offer this exciting and effective treatment option to Midwest women who are dealing with pelvic pain and infertility,” said Nollen.

Clear Passage is accepting patients for treatment and is offering phone consultations (at no charge) toll free at 1-866-BABYHERE (1-866-222-9437). Clinics are currently located in Gainesville, Florida and Des Moines, Iowa, with plans to open in Southern California later this year.    More information is available at www.clearpassage.com.