Have you heard of the Wurn Technique?  I hadn’t until a few weeks ago when I received an email from Clear Passage with links to a recently-published study showing the Wurn Technique can improve infertility issues, as well as reduce Endometriosis pain.  Are they claiming to cure Endometriosis?  Not at all.  But they are claiming their technique may help reduce your pain and may increases your chances of becoming pregnant.  So, curious as I was, I read up on it, asked questions, and now I present this information to you!

Personal Note: I am not endorsing Clear Passage or the claims made in these studies or their webpage.  I am simply pointing you, the curious reader, in a direction you may not have located otherwise.  Always, always, ALWAYS do your own research.  And choose a treatment that feels right for you.  If you have any questions about the Wurn Technique, please reach out to Clear Passage by email or 1 (352) 336-1433.  They will answer your questions and, if you so desire, schedule a phone consultation with one of their therapists (for free) to see if this is a viable treatment option for you.

Update 1/12/16 : If you’re located in the San Diego area, Clear Passage now has a San Diego location.

Clear Passage

Clear Passage was created by Belinda and Larry Wurn after Belinda was diagnosed and treated for cervical cancer in 1984.  After enduring surgery and radiation therapy, Belinda’s insides were scarred, creating a “frozen pelvis.”  Conventional medicine did little to ease her suffering, so she and Larry studied physical therapy techniques in the US and abroad and practiced the manual physical therapy they had been learning.  And, it was working!  They began developing their own methods and manual therapy techniques to ease her chronic pain, which ultimately became known as the Wurn Technique.

The Wurn Technique

The Wurn Technique involves 200 manual therapy techniques, each created to palpate the restricted areas of the body, freeing up adhesions and restoring the proper flow of the body.  It is generally a 5-day treatment comprising of 20 hours of bodywork.  Again and again, Clear Passage was able to “reverse infertility” for many women, freeing Fallopian tubes from scar tissue, and restoring their proper function.  Many women have praised Clear Passage and the Wurn Technique for the ability to conceive, and successfully deliver, a child.  All without surgery.

KSAT12, a Texas-based news station, broadcast a story on August 19, 2015, about the Wurn Technique.  (Update 3/18/19: unfortunately, it appears the video has been removed and the link is now dead.)

Infertility

Testimonials are a great way to do business; however, Clear Passage wanted scientific proof!  They conducted a small clinical trial of a woman whose Fallopian tubes were both severely blocked, and she had been diagnosed with a frozen pelvis.  Previous surgical intervention to unblock her Fallopian tubes failed and she was resigned to not having any children.  After working with the therapists at Clear Passage and using the Wurn Technique, they were able to completely unblock one of her Fallopian tubes!  Fantastic results, but not enough proof.  So…they went BIG and began a 10-year study of their technique and infertility results.  And it was recently published in the Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine journal.

In that study, they examined and treated nearly 1,400 patients over a ten-year period.  Of them, many women had Endometriosis-related infertility and astounding 43% of those patients conceived after their Clear Passage/Wurn Technique treatments.  A figure which surpassed even the surgical intervention figures (38-42%).  Women with both PCOS and Endometriosis also reported a successful pregnancy rate (75%).  Undergoing IVF?  This study found that Clear Passage and the Wurn Techniques had pregnancy rates 1.5 times higher than IVF alone.  Overall, Clear Passage and the Wurn Technique had a 60.85% success rate in opening one or both blocked Fallopian tubes! How does it work?  “…the Wurn technique… appeared to work by deforming adhesions in the body, thereby allowing increased mobility, motility, and function of the structures involved in fertility.” (Alternative Therapies, May/June 2015, Vol 21, 3, p. 37)

Further studies are needed to evaluate if the Stage of Endometriosis has any bearing on the treatment outcomes.

Endometriosis Pain

Painful sex and painful periods.  Two very painful things most patients with Endometriosis have to deal with…

In 2011, Clear Passage again hit the scientific and medical community to see how their Wurn Technique affected these painful issues associated with Endometriosis and the study was published in 2012.  All of the study participants had been previously surgically diagnosed with Endometriosis and 78% of those women also had pelvic adhesions.  One study consisted of 14 women who complained of painful sex; another consisted of 18 women who complained of painful sex and painful periods.  Each of the women underwent 20 hours of physical therapy using Clear Passage’s techniques.  The studies concluded that painful sex and sexual function were statistically significantly improved and painful periods statistically significantly decreased for the study participants.

In 2014, they submitted an update on that study! Seven of the 18 patients from the 2011 study were available for follow-up a year later.  Fifty percent of the women still did not experience any pain with sex!  Fifty percent!  And the participants also reported a continuing decreased amount of menstrual pain.  The Wurn Technique may prove useful to a woman who is having painful intercourse or painful periods prior to undergoing another laparoscopic surgery, or if she cannot afford a(nother) surgery.  An alternative option, which may lead to a year of reduced symptoms.  But, again, this appears to be only adhesion-related; shifting, freeing, and stretching the adhesions.  It may not work in all painful cases if adhesions are not the causation.

The Interweb’s Two Cents

I decided to wander around the Internet for testimonials, questions, and nay-sayers about the Wurn Technique.  So I waded through the first 20 pages of Google search results and present you with a few results:

Zoe was a satisfied customer from 2007.  She stressed that the Wurn Technique is neither massage therapy or physical therapy, but a “deep deep deep body work…”

Pogo1 wrote on a forum in 2008 and was met with a good experience of the Wurn Technique in the UK.

Amber3 reached out in 2011 for anyone who had experience with the Wurn Technique.  FaithHopeLove responded that she had the Wurn Technique to treat ankle scar tissue with fantastic results.

Mojo1234 posted in 2011 that the Wurn Technique did not work for her, but “…I think it does for some.  It depends on the extent of adhesions and what’s attached.”

Bookbabe posted an inquiry online back in 2013, and was met with skepticism, but also a few positive remarks.  She had her physician talk to Clear Passage and, “[h]e said what they are doing makes sense to him and that there is a chance that it would work.  He also called an ob/gyn friend of his to see what she thought of it and she said that when they do surgery to try and remove scar tissue and they are also stretching and tearing so it make sense to her as well, although she had never heard of it before.”

Mark Crislip posted shortly after the 2015 study was released with some points as to why he feels the results of the study, and the study itself, are disingenuous.

Craig Bowden’s daughter started a Gofundme campaign to help with medical and travel expenses for his Wurn Technique treatments.  He had severe abdominal adhesions after several surgeries, but updates, “[b]efore heading down to Clear Passage, I had a persistent/painful bowel obstruction, could only walk short distances with a crutch, had trouble going up/down stairs, experienced tremendous pain in my abdomen on a daily basis, had a very limited diet of crackers/similar items, and required a significant amount pain medication everyday. Only a mere five days after their treatment, I’m writing this as a person who can walk extensively without a cane, stand upright with great posture, and move freely without pain. I have diminished my baseline of pain and I am tapering down my pain medication. It’s absolutely incredible!”

As always, you must decide for yourself what you will believe and what course of action you will take.

I would like to thank the Clear Passage team for being a wealth of invaluable information and putting up with my endless questions and requests during this blog-writing process.  If anything, Clear Passage’s dedication to improving womens’ lives is very evident to me.  They truly believe in their work.  I hope that they are able to continue to ease the pain and suffering of others while also continuing their pursuit of additional scientific proof.

(Updated March 25, 2019)

Resources:

Adhesions.org

Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine (2015; Article) Ten-Year Retrospective Study on the Efficacy of a Manual Physical Therapy to Treat Female Infertility

Babycenter.com

Clear Passage

Journal of Endometriosis and Pelvic Pain Disorders (2012; Article) Decreasing Dyspareunia and Dysmenorrhea in Women with Endometriosis Via a Manual Physical Therapy : Results from Two Independent Studies

Journal of Endometriosis and Pelvic Pain Disorders (2014; Letter to the Editor) Update on “Decreasing Dyspareunia and Dysmenorrhea in Women with Endometriosis Via a Manual Physical Therapy : Results from Two Independent Studies”

~ Again, I am a layman.  I do not hold any college degrees, nor mastery of knowledge.  Please take what I say with a grain of salt.  If curious, do your own research 😉 Validate my writings.  Or challenge them.  And ALWAYS feel free to consult with your physician. Always.  Yours ~ Lisa