Relieve Your Mastectomy Pain without Drugs or Surgery

Mastectomy is a life saving treatment for many women diagnosed with breast cancer. Yet, like other surgeries, it can leave painful adhesions and scarring. Moreover, some patients also experience irreversible nerve damage.

In a total mastectomy, the entire breast is removed but the lymph nodes that extend into the armpit are left intact. This is often the course of action to treat and prevent further cancer when the lymph nodes are not involved. A modified radical mastectomy is even more invasive than the total mastectomy and involves removal of the lymph nodes along the armpit as well removal of the entire breast and nipple. Many women who undergo a modified radical mastectomy also choose to proceed with an immediate or delayed breast reconstruction

Women who have undergone a mastectomy may experience a variety of post-mastectomy symptoms syndromes. Pain may occur at the surgical scar, throughout the chest wall, and into the shoulders and arms. Mild to severe tightness can occur at the surgical site, and throughout the chest cavity and neighboring structures as adhesive strait-jackets envelop the area, after this surgery. While pain in some women is attributed to cut nerves (we cannot reverse nerve damage), we do find adhesion formation to be a

As the first step in the healing process after surgery, tiny strands of collagen rush to the site that has been cut. There, they lay down in a random pattern to create the powerful bonds we call adhesions (see our general adhesions page for more detail). After a mastectomy, these adhesions remain in the body for life, as a permanent by-product of the surgery.

We are very familiar with cancer and post-surgical adhesions. We faced this situation 20 years ago when the physical therapist director of Clear Passage Physical Therapy, Belinda Wurn, developed severe adhesions after surgery and radiation therapy to treat cancer in her pelvis. Unable to work due to the pain, and having seen the devastating and debilitating effects of post-surgical adhesions in her own patients, she was determined to find a non-surgical way to address 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 fibers that comprise adhesions.

When a patient who has undergone a mastectomy comes to our clinic with pain, our physical therapists evaluate the areas of tension or restricted mobility. They pay particular attention to the areas around incisions. Considering the tendency of adhesions to spread, they then examine the entire body for areas of decreased mobility, tension, and pain. The “hands-on” work practiced at Clear Passage Physical Therapy clinics 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.

Visit our “what treatment is like” web page for more information, or click the link on this page now, to complete a medical history questionnaire and apply for a free, in-depth consultation.

Click HERE for an eBook on treating post mastectomy pain without drugs or surgery.