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by Dr Susan
Craniosacral therapy is a gentle hands-on method of detecting and releasing restrictions that surrounding the brain and spinal cord. Correcting these imbalances can alleviate a full range of sensory motor or neurological dysfunction. Craniosacral therapy was created by an osteopathic physician, Dr. John Upledger, President and Medical Director of the Upledger Institute in Palm Beach Garden Florida. The institute is a health resource center dedicated to the advancement of innovative techniques that complement conventional care. It is recognized worldwide for its groundbreaking continuing education programs, clinical research and therapeutic services. Practitioners educated in craniosacral therapy are educated health professionals in diverse disciplines.
I was first introduced to craniotherapy when I was studying chiropractic in Toronto, Canada. During my internship, I had a patient who was presented to the clinic with a condition called Trigeminal Neuralgia, a very painful facial syndrome stemming from the fifth cranial nerve. This patient suffered four years with this condition. I set her up with an attending clinician to evaluate and treat her with craniosacral therapy, as I had not been fully trained at that time. After she received one treatment, she reported that she was almost pain free. She was subsequently treated and her condition completely cleared up.
Since that time, I knew that I wanted to learn this technique to help others find answers to their health concerns. After taking my first craniosacral therapy class, a patient came into my office who had experienced a traumatic life-threatening event that landed her in intensive care with multiple injuries and in a coma. She eventually came out of the coma and started rehabilitation which she had to discontinue because the pain was too intense. At first I thought, "wow, this is one week after learning craniosacral therapy"! It is like getting on the largest bike in the world just when you get off training wheels. Once again, craniosacral therapy reduced the patient's pain syndrome so she could resume rehabilitative therapy.
This type of treatment is used in treating Attention Deficit and Auditory Processing Disorders, post traumatic stress disorder, all types of chronic pain conditions, obsessive compulsive disorder, autism, otitis media (ear infection), and various other conditions that affect the neuromuscular-skeletal systems. The concept behind this technique is that when structural portions of the anatomy are put back into balance, the function of that area starts working as it should. I explain it to people as a gentle pulling on an area that is stuck, feeling which direction it is stuck in, and following that direction. It's like when you are walking the dog and the dog is pulling you in the direction he wants to go. Or it could be looked at as a subtle way of pulling out the kinks in the soft tissue. People say it feels like energy work and often I will combine various subtle energy methods in a session. We are trained in our third level class to work within the energy system of the body.
Many of our contemporary psychotherapists such as Wilhelm Reich and Carl Jung pointed out that our bodies are like armor around our feelings and memories. Most complimentary alternative practitioners call this somato-emotional release when a form of physical medicine or hands-on therapy releases this armor.
Craniosacral therapists are also trained to dialogue with patients through a somato-emotional release. This does not only come through releasing emotional memories, but body memories also. Certain invasive measures from an injury for example, hold the whole system of the body in tension. These areas are called energy cysts. When releasing energy cysts, the area of the body that is being treated heats up and can go through a unique style of letting go of the memory that is contained. Most often there is a therapeutic pulse that reaches a crescendo, then sends waves of sensation in the form of emotional or physical feelings. For example, a person who had been in a motor vehicle accident (MVA) 10 years prior to receiving craniosacral therapy experienced an acute exacerbation of her symptoms from a disc problem in the neck. She had always had pain but it had gotten worse. Her pain was so strong she was unable to lay down on the table. Eventually through the work of craniosacral therapy she was able to lay down to receive a series of treatments. One day she experienced an unwinding whereby she started to go through the same movements, which caused her injury. Suddenly, she felt her chest hit the steering wheel and she heard the sound of the car hitting her again. She walked out of the session pain free and for years her pain has never returned.
Other people have had experiences where they had actual memories return to their consciousness or felt rushes of emotional feelings or physical sensations. Still, others have no dramatic sensation but return from a session saying, "it did not look like you were doing anything; I just knew I felt better afterwards".
Craniosacral therapy works on the soft tissue structures of the body known as membranes. Gentle manual tractioning is done on membranes around the spine and brain. A practitioner could release scar tissue found in the membranes around the pelvis, respiratory diaphragm and thoracic outlet. Adhesions or scar tissue could develop from surgical wounds or any inflammatory process. Parts of the head such as the ears are used as anchors to release the restrictions found in the membranous structures. Most often there is no pain during a session and many people fall asleep. Research has shown that alpha waves are induced using specific craniosacral hand techniques in various areas of the body. Alpha waves are brain waves that are detected during meditation. When a person reaches this state, the body starts to repair itself and build up its resources rather than break it down as in the case of stress. Many patients in cardiovascular rehabilitation use meditation in their lifestyle modification because of the effect of the alpha wave changes in the body.
Craniosacral therapy is recommended after a Cesarean section for mother and newborn, before, during and after orthodontics, and before surgery for strabismus (lazy eye). In a natural birth, the cranial vault or head goes through compression/decompression in the birth canal. This prepares the newborn for atmospheric changes from a fluid-based environment to an air-based one. When undergoing a C-section, this process is eliminated and restriction in the cranial region can occur. Any facial corrections with craniosacral therapy can improve the outcome for corrective measures. I have seen where an orthodontic patient needed to have his before-bracing picture retaken as his family and orthodontist noticed structural changes after craniosacral therapy. Other people have also reported significant structural changes after craniosacral therapy.
As each person has their own health concerns, I take an initial history and do a physical evaluation before treating my patients. Sometimes I may recommend chiropractic, homeopathy, acupuncture, or other therapies to augment the sessions based on the symptoms and diagnosis. In any case, craniosacral therapy is a means to detect and correct restrictions and allow the body's innate intelligence to heal and harmonize the mind, body, and soul.
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