Bowel Obstruction – Need Help Now?

The images above show the ability of Clear Passage®️ therapy to clear adhesive bowel obstructions without surgery. In a ‘small bowel follow-through’ (SBFT) test, the patient swallowed a radio-opaque dye (shown in white) to help doctors view the inside of the intestines.

X-rays before CP therapy show severe narrowing in two areas. In the set at left, the intestine was narrowed to the diameter of a coffee straw for three inches; only a small trickle of liquid could pass through. In the images at right, the bowel is nearly shut before therapy, squeezed to the shape of an hourglass. The patient was scheduled for emergency surgery to repair both sites; she chose to first try Clear Passage® therapy.

After therapy, the radiologist and surgeon repeated the test. Both agreed that after therapy, she had a “normal bowel.” Her physician canceled surgery as unnecessary.

Clear Passage® is a network of ‘hands-on’ physical therapy clinics. We are recognized as world experts in reversing adhesive bowel obstructions naturally, then decreasing or stopping their recurrence.

Since 1986, our focus has been to decrease adhesions without surgery. In 2004, our director had two emergency bowel obstruction surgeries: one at home, one during a vacation in India. Her second surgery was caused by adhesions from her first bowel surgery. We re-focused efforts to treat bowel adhesions, with good success. Numerous studies have been published on our treatment; as of this writing, she has been 18 years without another obstruction. Realizing the need, we developed a program to delay or stop the bowel obstructions in others and to teach our patients to keep adhesions, obstructions and hospitalizations away – hopefully forever. Click here for a detailed history.

1975: Belinda Wurn, PT graduates physical therapy school summa cum laude – at the top of her class.

1984: In her 30s, Belinda was diagnosed with aggressive cervical cancer.

1986: She was in debilitating pain from adhesions after surgery and radiation therapy. Her doctors said “nothing can be done; surgery will only create more. You must live with this pain forever.” She resolved to find another way to decrease adhesions.

1987-89: With her massage therapist husband Larry, she took courses and hired Ph.D. scientists to study the formation and structure of adhesions. They developed a ‘hands-on’ therapy to decrease adhesions naturally. Their focus was on pelvic adhesions (below the umbilicus), the site of Belinda’s adhesions. After two years of research and development, Belinda returned to work full-time. They opened a practice designed to help others with adhesions.

1990: They learned their work opened fallopian tubes blocked by adhesions in several women – a feat previously thought impossible without surgery.

1991: Recognizing the importance of a non-surgical treatment for adhesions, the local hospital Chief of Staff joined them as an unpaid Research Director to study their work.

1992 – 2004: Following the ‘scientific method’ to investigate new treatments, the team began publishing results in major peer-reviewed medical journals.

June 2004: Belinda had emergency bowel obstruction surgery in the abdomen (above the umbilicus) 20 years after her initial cancer surgery.

December 2004: Belinda had emergency surgery in India for a second bowel obstruction –caused by the prior bowel surgery. (Read their fascinating story of undergoing surgery in India by clicking here.)

January 2005 – present: Realizing that bowel obstructions are life-threatening, and that surgery is the primary cause, the couple focused on decreasing adhesive bowel obstructions, with referrals from physicians throughout the USA and other countries.

Peer-reviewed studies show Clear Passage® therapy can clear obstructed bowels and delay or stop ongoing bowel obstructions without creating new surgical adhesions. Doctors from Harvard, Stanford and Washington Universities authored studies showing their work is safe and effective at decreasing adhesions. A controlled study shows it decreased recurring total obstructions by 15 times the norm (p=0.0003).

Internal scars called adhesions can block the bowel when they form after surgery, injury, infection or other tissue damage. Once formed, adhesions tend to remain or spread over time. No drug, vitamin or body process has been shown to decrease adhesions.

For years, surgery was considered the only way to decrease adhesions, a huge problem because surgery is the primary cause of bowel obstruction. Understanding the problem, therapists at Clear Passage® have spent over 30 years focused on decreasing adhesions naturally without causing new post-surgical adhesions, or more obstructions.

At a microscopic level, adhesions are largely composed of tiny collagen fibers. These tiny but powerful strands develop strength by bonding to each other in a process called cross linking similar to the bonding that may occur among strands of a nylon rope.

The focus of our therapy is to deform and detach the bonds that attach the collagen strands, thus shredding and dissipating the adhesions that cause obstructions. As we do, our therapy appears to decrease or eliminate those bonds and return the body to an earlier state of mobility and function– back to the state it was in before the adhesions formed.

Published studies in peer-reviewed medical journals housed at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) cite Clear Passage® as safe and effective for decreasing adhesions in the abdomen and pelvis. No other non-surgical treatment or bodywork has been shown to be effective for decreasing adhesions within or among the organs of the human body.

Click here to open a 20-minute educational audio explaining how and why they form in the body, how we find them, and how we get rid of them.

We will work to get you into therapy as quickly as possible, often in as little as two weeks. First, we need to make sure it is safe to treat you. If you have had a recent surgery, we must wait 90 days before we can treat you. If you have cancer or certain other conditions, we may require recent diagnostic results or medical clearances.

Applying for treatment is free, easy and can give you further insights. Start by completing our (required) Medical History Form. We ask you to share your goals for therapy along with your lifetime history of surgery, injury, and other healing events. We examine your completed documents thoroughly to help determine:

• where adhesions may have formed in your body
• if we feel our work can help you, and to what extent
• whether any cautions or contraindications appear that we need to discuss with you, your doctor or each other before we can accept you for therapy.

We respond quickly, generally within three workdays. After review, we may ask you to send in medical records, surgical or diagnostic reports. We are glad to work with your physician to keep you safe and assure your best outcome.

You can call, text or email us at any time via the following methods:

• Call our headquarters in the U.S.A.: (1) 352-336-1433
• Text our headquarters in the U.S.A.: (1) 352-226-4775
• Email us at: info@clearpassage.com

Most people drive or fly on the weekend to one of our facilities located in several cities in the USA and England. All paperwork and scheduling is done through our headquarters in Gainesville, Florida (USA).

The protocol cited in medical literature consists of 20 hours of therapy delivered over five days (e.g., Monday – Friday.) Most people receive two treatment hours each morning and afternoon with a break for lunch giving you time in the evening to enjoy the local area. Some of our locations allow weekend therapy with additional charge for the therapist. Lodging at a nearby hotel or rental is your choice, not part of our services.

We suggest you book a place with a bathtub; Epson salt baths help lessen evening soreness from treatment. We encourage you to wait an additional day or two after therapy before boarding a plane (e.g., complete therapy on Friday afternoon and fly home Saturday or Sunday.)

Adult companions are invited, but not required to attend therapy sessions. Patients under 18 years old must have a parent or guardian present for every session. You can eat at nearby restaurants. Keeping breakfast and lunch light can make treatment more effective and comfortable.

Your comfort level is important to us. While most patients simply wear underwear during treatment, we provide adequate draping, pillows, blankets and towels to keep you warm and comfortable. As you are able, we suggest you walk or swim during the week to help your body adjust to its new structure as we free you of adhesive bonds.

Bring comfortable clothes, walking shoes and a bathing suit if you might like to swim. Bring or buy a 2-pound bag of Epson salts for evening soaks and any anti-inflammatory such as Ibuprofen (or something natural) to help decrease soreness from therapy. It is common to feel quite tired each evening. Bring a book or tablet to entertain yourself in your room each evening.

Beginning your first day, we suggest you create a vision of walking out of therapy the last day having achieved everything you came for. Start to ‘own’ and share that vision with your therapist, as a very real goal. Be specific: imagine how you are dressed, what the weather is like, how you feel when you stand, walk and breathe. Create realistic goals for the end of therapy such as “I will walk for two hours without pain” or “I will look in the mirror each morning without fear and think “I am ready to return to my life. With the tools and education Clear Passage® has given me, I know exactly how to care for my body, myself. While I can call them without charge if I ever need, I understand my new body so much better. I know how to avoid another obstruction – so I can return to the life I envision.”

So many patients have asked us what they can eat that we created a Digestive Health Guide which we are glad to provide to anyone who has suffered bowel obstructions.