Tag Archive for manual physical therapy

Meet the Therapists – Larry Wurn, LMT

What is your name?
Larry Wurn

How long have you been a therapist?
Since 1989, so 22 years

Larry with his beautiful bride, Belinda on their wedding day.

How long have you been practicing the Wurn Technique?
My wife Belinda and I began developing it in 1989. We then incorporated Clear Passage in 1995.

How did you first become interested in this work?
It began when my wife developed debilitating adhesions, after surgery and massive doses of radiation therapy.

Where did you grow up?
Jacksonville, Florida, then moved to San Francisco in 1969. I became Guest Curator at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco in 1972, coordinating large, multi-museum shows throughout the San Fransisco Bay area for the next three years.

What’s your favorite food?
I love Indian and Thai food, and anything with lots of garlic!

Where did you receive your education?
University of North Carolina, then transferred to San Francisco State University during a very exciting time in the early 70’s. That was when our campus became a center of protest of the Viet Nam War. I can still remember police on horseback herding students into or away from certain buildings – while I was just trying to get to class.

What is your philosophy on continuing education?
Continuing education is vitally important. You never stop learning. I learn every day from study, from my co-workers, and from my patients.

What conditions do you have experience treating?
My main focus centers around the adhesions that form wherever the body heals. I have extensive experience treating chronic pain, bowel obstruction, female infertility, endometriosis, intercourse and menstrual pain, TMJ, chronic head and neck pain, low back and post-surgical pain.

Where is your favorite place to go on vacation?
Anywhere exotic – where there is no fax machine, phone service or Internet! My favorite is being “away from it all.” For that reason, I love to scuba dive – to just be one of the fish!

What is your favorite part about treating patients?
I love giving people back their lives, and helping make their dreams come true.

Larry treating a patient at Clear Passage's National Headquarters in Gainesville, FL

What do you hear patients say most often after receiving treatment?
“I don’t want to leave; I wish I lived here.”

What one word describes you best?
Inspired.

What drives you every day?
There are people suffering with physical needs that have found no relief, or whose conditions have worsened, using traditional medicine – drugs or surgery. Some have debilitating pain, some have life-threatening conditions; many have been told “there is nothing that can be done for you” or “it’s all in your head” when it is clear to us that they have very real, tangible problems. In most cases, these are conditions that we can reverse.

I love it that we are so often able to give people back pain-free lives and hope using a non-invasive therapy that is based on compassion, and grounded in science.

I love it that to be successful, we must deeply listen to our patients, ask them what they are feeling, and even what they feel needs to happen in their bodies for them to reach their goals. Thus, we empower each patient to help create and direct her/his own cure. Working together with patients to achieve a great result is exciting, powerful and humbling. I am truly blessed to be able to work with people in need, and to help them find a new life, and achieve their goals.

Have a question or comment for Larry? Post a reply below.

Meet the Therapists – Kathy Hess, PT

Kathy is an accomplished equestrian

What is your name?

Kathy Hess

How long have you been a physical therapist?

31 years

How long have you been practicing the Wurn Technique?

I have been certified in the Wurn Technique for six months, but I have been doing most of the hands-on techniques for over 15 yrs.

Which Clear Passage clinic location do you work at?

I am the clinic director for the Northern Virginia location.

How did you first become interested in this work?

I felt like I was missing something with my treatments. I started taking Myofascial Release classes, then became interested in treating women’s health issues. I then started taking additional classes in this area.

Kathy with her family

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in the Philadelphia area, specifically Norristown, PA.

What’s your favorite food?

Potato chips

Where did you receive your education?

Univerisity of Pittsburgh

What is your philosophy on continuing education?

I believe it is very important to expand your knowledge base.   I take about 2-3 continuing education classes every year.

What conditions do you have experience in treating?

I have treated patients with chronic pain, adhesions, women’s health issues, orthopedic issues, neurological issues, and amputees.

Where is your favorite place to go on vacation?

My favorite location is Sedona, Arizonia. Going camping anywhere is great to me. I love being outside in the fresh air.

What is your favorite part about treating patients?

Kathy treating a Clear Passage patient

I enjoy helping patients get there life back without pain or limitations

What do you hear patients say most often after receiving treatment?

“I can’t believe I am feeling better.”

What three words describes you best?

Intense, Motivated, and Caring

What drives you every day?

Knowing that I can help people

Have a question or comment for Kathy? Post a reply below.

Uncovering the True Culprit of Infertility: Adhesions

Adhesion formation can cause infertility by gluing down delicate tissues and organs and reducing regular function

Adhesion formation can cause infertility by gluing down delicate tissues and organs and reducing regular function.

For many women, the diagnosis of infertility begins a dedicated search for help, hope and healing. Many causes of infertility go undiagnosed while others are diagnosed as blocked fallopian tubes, endometriosis, or hydrosalpinx. However, in many cases of infertility, the true culprit comes in the form of tiny internal scars called adhesions.

These adhesions form as the bodies first response in the healing process. As adhesions form, they can attach to delicate tissues and organs creating a strong glue-like bond that restricts movement and regular function. This restriction of function causes infertility when adhesions attach throughout the pelvis and reproductive organs.  Adhesions are a particularly difficult condition because they do not appear on most diagnostic tests. Unless the adhesions are extremely large, doctors cannot know they are there unless directly visualized during surgery.

Generally, treatment for adhesions involves a surgical procedure in which the surgeon cuts or burns the adhesive bonds throughout the abdomen. However, due to the trauma and healing process involved in this procedure, adhesions often reform, sometimes worse than before the surgery.

There is a non-surgical solution for treating adhesions called the Wurn Technique®. This treatment is a hands-on physical therapy that has been successful in treating the following:

An Excerpt from ‘Fertility Rates Improve After Addressing Underlying Adhesions’ By Laura Owens

One in eight couples is affected by infertility. Faced with the overwhelming emotional and physical stress of trying to conceive, many couples seek alternative treatments after conventional medicine fails.

The Wurn Technique® is one such approach. Developed by Belinda and Larry Wurn, this treatment is based on manually palpatating blockages caused by adhesions in the body, offering a drug and surgery-free treatment for infertility, chronic pain and a long list of pelvic conditions.

…Click Here to Read More…

Chronic Pain eBook

Click here to read our chronic pain eBook.

Many people suffer from the debilitating  chronic pain, but there is a natural way to live pain-free. You can read more about this natural treatment by reading our Chronic Pain eBook.

This eBook describes the cause and treatment of adhesions which can cause chronic pain throughout the body. Adhesions are thick fibrous bands of scar tissue that form following a trauma or surgery. These adhesions can attach to delicate tissues and organs causing tightness and pain by acting as an adhesive glue. The Wurn Technique® is a hands-on physical therapy has been shown to decrease pain and increase function by pulling apart these adhesions strand by strand. This allows the body to return to normal function and relieves the stress and pulling on the delicate tissues within the body.

Share this information with someone you know who suffers from chronic pain, and help them find a path to living pain-free.

What is the Wurn Technique ®?

By Jackie

When Belinda Wurn found herself in chronic pain after treatment for cervical cancer, she and her husband began taking manual physical therapy classes. They hoped that these classes would teach them techniques that would decrease the pelvic pain and dysfunction Belinda experienced. Sure enough, the techniques helped tremendously and the Wurns continued taking class after class.

As they learned more and became comfortable with the techniques, they began expanding on the techniques and developed new techniques. Through their physical therapy practice, they encountered numerous patients with unexplained pain and dysfunction. They tried different techniques to find and treat their patients’ pain and dysfunction – taking note which techniques were most effective. Over time, they had a compilation of hundreds of different manual physical therapy techniques. They decided to name this compilation the Wurn Technique ®.

Today, anyone who comes to Clear Passage Therapies is treated with the Wurn Technique ®. It is important to know that the Wurn Technique ® is far more than a series of manual physical therapy maneuvers. The Wurn Technique ® employs three key treatment philosophies that set it apart from any other physical therapy:

  • Extensive Patient History Review: The Wurn Technique ® is based on finding areas of previous injury and current restriction, immobility, tightness, pain, and dysfunction. A thorough understanding of a patient’s history is vital to find these areas.
  • Patient Participation: The Wurn Technique ® depends on the input of the patient. The patient’s intuition and experience can provide pivotal clues to the cause of pain and dysfunction. The patient also remains active throughout treatment, guiding the therapist with feedback.
  • Thorough Palpatory Evaluation: In order for therapists to reduce pain and improve function, they must first find areas of tension, restriction, and limited mobility. By thoroughly examining the entire body with their hands (using the Wurn Technique ®), they find these areas.

It is only when these three keys are employed that the Wurn Technique ® can be successful. Visit our website to learn more about our treatment philosophy or why adhesions are the basis of the Wurn Technique ®.