Category: Neck Pain

Meet the Therapists: Belinda Wurn
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What is your name?
Belinda Wurn
How long have you been a physical therapist (or PTA/LMT)?
36 years
How long have you been practicing the Wurn Technique®?
22 years
How did you first become interested in this work?
I was trying to figure out how to get myself out of the chronic pain I was experiencing after 40 external radiation treatments and 2 internal radium implants for cervical cancer in 1984.
Where did you grow up?
Jacksonville, Florida. I lived in the Arlington area, and went to the beach (30 minutes away) every free minute I had!
What’s your favorite food?
Seared foie gras or good pizza
Where did you receive your education?
The University of Florida (go Gators!)
What is your philosophy on continuing education?
From 1988 until 1999, I took 4 to 6 courses a year. There was so much knowledge out there about different myofascial and visceral manipulation techniques, I wanted to learn them all. I think continuing education is extremely valuable. The techniques I use now are not ones I learned in PT school. You get the basics there, but in order to develop your work into an art, it is vital to keep up with the latest techniques that are developed over time.
What conditions do you have experience treating?
Chronic and complex pain, women’s health issues (pain with intercourse, painful periods, endometriosis, urinary incontinence, sexual dysfunction), bowel obstructions, post-surgical adhesions, headaches, facial and jaw pain, tailbone pain, abdominal, pelvic, back, or neck pain
Where is your favorite place to go on vacation?
France and Italy, Africa on safari
What is your favorite part about treating patients?
Hearing from them at the end of the week and seeing on their faces that they feel so much better, and I have helped give them back their active lifestyle.
What one word describes you best?
Caring
What drives you every day?
Helping to relieve my patient’s pain. Coming home to the lake and playing with my 2 beautiful Golden Retrievers!
August 26, 2011
Meet the Therapists: Larry Wurn
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What is your name?
Larry Wurn
How long have you been a therapist?
Since 1989, so 22 years
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 Francisco 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 70s. That was when our campus became a center of protest against the Vietnam 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.
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.
August 26, 2011
Six Back-Saving Tips for Holiday Shoppers
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Clear Passage® Therapies offers six back-saving tips to help holiday shoppers ease or eliminate back pain during an all-day shopping spree.
Gainesville, FL, November 21, 2008 — Clear Passage® Therapies, a recognized leader in manual physical therapy for adhesions, pain, and infertility, offers six back-saving tips for holiday shoppers hitting the malls and outlets this season.
“Your low back is the center and core of your body,” says Larry Wurn, President and Director of Clinical Studies, Clear Passage® Therapies. “Taking care of your lower back is key in maintaining a strong, healthy body overall.”
According to Wurn, the six major tips shoppers should use to reduce potential back pain associated with a long day of shopping are
1. Wear comfortable shoes with good cushioning support; flip-flops and high-heeled shoes are not recommended.
2. Avoid carrying any weight (e.g., purse, presents, or a baby) on one side of your body. “Weighty objects should be carried close to the center of your body to minimize stress on your lower back,” he said. “Hold them in close – or use a backpack attached evenly on both shoulders.”
3. Condense your large purse to a smaller, lightweight satchel to keep the excess weight to a minimum.
4. When you can, use a cart instead of a handbasket for your purchases. A cart will not only take a huge weight off your shoulders and back, but it will also lend valuable support to your lower back.
5. Don’t let the stress of shopping cause you to lift your shoulders. High shoulders are inefficient, carry less weight, and can quickly cause neck pain or headaches during a day of shopping. Let your shoulders relax onto your chest; then use your arms to lift, keeping your packages low and close to your body.
6. Concrete and tiled floors can be hard on the back, so take regular breaks to sit or elevate your feet. A 5 to 10-minute break from your feet for every hour of shopping is a good plan.
Wurn and his wife, Belinda, are currently co-authoring a book, ‘Miracle Moms, Better Sex, Less Pain ’, that examines their non-surgical manual physical therapy (Wurn Technique®). The therapy has been shown in peer-reviewed medical journals to reduce adhesions, decrease pain, and restore function. It has proven effective for many people without the risks or side effects of surgery or drugs. It can be used as a stand-alone treatment or in conjunction with other treatments.
‘Miracle Moms’ will be published this winter, with medical insights by research gynecologist and co-author Richard King, MD. A ‘sneak peek’ is available at the Clear Passage® Therapies blog to spur discussion with readers on important topics.
November 21, 2008