Reduce Abdominal Adhesions without Surgery

Abdominal adhesions refer to scarring or tissue repair that occurs anywhere in the abdomen. They form as the first step in the healing process after any surgery, trauma, infection, or inflammation. Wherever they form, adhesions join structures with strong glue-like bonds that can last a lifetime (see our general adhesions page for more detail.)

The abdomen contains several major organs, including those which digest food, create or filter blood, or assist elimination. Abdominal adhesions frequently occur within the 7½ to 12 feet length (Abdominal Imaging, 1984)1 of the small intestines. To maintain its length in this small area, the small bowel has dozens of loops and folds. These help absorb nutrients en route from the stomach to the large intestines. However, the close sinews of these folds are perfect places for abdominal adhesions to form.

When adhesions form around the abdomen, intestines, or digestive tract, dysfunction such as constipation or abdominal pain may result. Abdominal adhesions can contribute to irritable bowel syndrome, or cause total blockage of the intestines. Since the patient cannot eat or eliminate food, this blockage is considered a life-threatening condition and must be treated by a physician.

Treating Abdominal Adhesions with Surgery

Until recently, lysis of adhesions was the only choice medical science offered to treat abdominal adhesions. This involves cutting or burning the abdominal adhesions under general anesthesia, via laparoscopy or laparotomy (open surgery).

While lysis of abdominal adhesions can be effective, surgery has two major drawbacks:

1. it carries risks from anesthesia and infection, and
2. despite the best skills of the finest surgeon, the body creates more abdominal adhesions as it heals from the surgery designed to remove them.

A study in Digestive Surgery showed that more than 90% of patients develop adhesions following open abdominal surgery and 55% to 100% of women develop adhesions following pelvic surgery.2 Another study reported that 35% of all open abdominal or pelvic surgery patients were readmitted to the hospital more than twice to treat post-surgical adhesions during the 10 years after their original surgery.3 Thus, abdominal surgery itself has been implicated as a major cause of adhesion formation and many patients become trapped in a cycle of surgery-adhesions-surgery – with no end in sight.

Causes of adhesions: Surgery

Surgery is a primary cause of adhesions. A study in Digestive Surgery showed that more than 90% of patients develop adhesions following open abdominal surgery and 55% to 100% of women develop adhesions following pelvic surgery.2 As noted above, surgery to remove adhesions has itself been implicated as a major cause of adhesion formation. Other surgeries that may cause adhesions or scars to form in and around organs include:

• bowel obstruction repair
• appendectomy
• episiotomy or C-section
• laparoscopy or laparotomy
• hysterectomy
• back or hip surgery
• abortion
• complete or partial removal of organs
• gastric bypass
• plastic surgery

Treating Abdominal Adhesions with Surgery

Until recently, lysis of adhesions was the only choice medical science offered to treat abdominal adhesions. This involves cutting or burning the abdominal adhesions under general anesthesia, via laparoscopy or laparotomy (open surgery).

While lysis of abdominal adhesions can be effective, surgery has two major drawbacks:

1. it carries risks from anesthesia and infection, and
2. despite the best skills of the finest surgeon, the body creates more abdominal adhesions as it heals from the surgery designed to remove them.

A study in Digestive Surgery showed that more than 90% of patients develop adhesions following open abdominal surgery and 55% to 100% of women develop adhesions following pelvic surgery.2 Another study reported that 35% of all open abdominal or pelvic surgery patients were readmitted to the hospital more than twice to treat post-surgical adhesions during the 10 years after their original surgery.3 Thus, abdominal surgery itself has been implicated as a major cause of adhesion formation and many patients become trapped in a cycle of surgery-adhesions-surgery – with no end in sight.

Treating Abdominal Adhesions with the Wurn Technique®

We know abdominal adhesions well. We faced this situation 20 years ago when the physical therapist director of Clear Passage Therapies®, Belinda Wurn, developed severe adhesions after pelvic surgery and radiation therapy to her abdomen. Unable to work due to the pain, and having seen the devastating and debilitating effects of abdominal adhesions in her own patients, she was determined to find a non-surgical way to address abdominal adhesions.

With her husband, massage therapist Larry Wurn, Belinda took a much deeper look at the etiology and biomechanics of adhesion formation. They found that the chemical bonds that attached each of the tiny collagen fibers to its neighbor appeared to dissipate or dissolve when placed under sustained pressure over time. With this knowledge, they developed the Wurn Technique® to unravel the bonds between the crosslinks that comprise adhesions.

The “hands-on” work practiced at Clear Passage Therapies® clinics is designed to reduce or eliminate adhesions, crosslink by crosslink. It has been shown in peer-reviewed medical journals to reduce adhesions, decrease pain, and improve soft tissue mobility, without the risks of surgery or drugs.

We treat men, women and some children for abdominal adhesions. Visit our “what treatment is like” web page for more information, or click the link at the bottom of this page now, to complete a medical history questionnaire and apply for a free, in-depth consultation.

 

1. Fanucci A, Cerro P, Fraracci L, Ietto F. Small bowel length measured by radiography. Gastrointest Radiol (& Abdominal Imaging Journal). 1984;9(4):349-51. PMID 6500246.
2. Liakakos T, Thomakos N, Fine PM, Dervenis C, Young RL. Peritoneal Adhesions: Etiology, Pathophysiology, and Clinical Significance.Dig Surg. 2001; 18: 260-273. PMID 11528133.
3. Ellis H, Moran BJ, Thompson JN, Parker MC, Wilson MS, Menzies D, McGuire A, Lower AM, Hawthorn RJ, O’Brien F, Buchan S, Crowe AM. Adhesion-related hospital readmissions after abdominal and pelvic surgery: a retrospective cohort study. Lancet Br J Med. 1999; 353: 1476-80. PMID 10232313