What is Craniosacral Therapy?

Craniosacral Therapy (CST) was pioneered and developed by osteopathic physician John E. Upledger following extensive scientific studies from 1975 to 1983 at Michigan State University, where he served as a clinical researcher and Professor of Biomechanics.

According to Dr. John Upledger, “Craniosacral Therapy (CST), is a gentle, hands-on approach that releases tensions deep in the body to relieve pain and dysfunction and improve whole-body health and performance. Using a soft touch which is generally no greater than 5 grams – about the weight of a nickel – practitioners release restrictions in the soft tissues that surround the central nervous system.”

Craniosacral therapy works with the membranes and fluid that surround and protect the brain and spinal cord. It influences lymphatic fluid and connective tissue. The craniosacral therapist encourages the body to let go of restrictions and improve the flow of fluid. A craniosacral therapist learns to listen and feel for the faint dural pulse of the craniosacral rhythm. It’s a pulse that doesn’t match the beat of the heart or the rhythm of respirations, it’s smooth and full, like the ebb and flow of gentle waves pushing and pulling on a sea shore. Feeling too hard for it can crush the rhythm, too soft and you miss it. Once you find it, you follow the rhythm to flow from the top of the head to the bottom of the feet and back again. It also flows from the front midline of the body, and around the outside of the body to the back of the spine and back around to the front again. I’ve seen pictures of electrical currents making a similar pattern. The therapist is looking for any restrictions, interruptions, or blockages that prevent the rhythm from flowing smoothly and completely. It feels similar to a dance in slow motion, the therapist gently urges the pulse to and fro along the spine and along the path encircling the body and back again. In Craniosacral therapy you are gently encouraging the rhythm to go out a little further, or come back a little closer, to complete and improve the flow of fluid.

 As a client, the body seems to respond to the positive good will and encouragement of the therapist. An understanding develops that the therapist is seeking to help the body heal itself. The encouragement and support, gives permission to stretch a little with the understanding that the therapist is here to guide you and support you.

Dr. Upledger states that “by complementing the body's natural healing processes, CST is increasingly used as a preventive health measure for its ability to bolster resistance to disease, and is effective for a wide range of medical problems associated with pain and dysfunction, including:

• Migraine Headaches
• Chronic Neck and Back Pain
• Motor-Coordination Impairments
• Colic
• Autism
• Central Nervous System Disorders
• Orthopedic Problems
• Concussions and Traumatic Brain Injuries
• Spinal Cord Injuries
• Scoliosis
• Infantile Disorders
• Learning Disabilities
• Chronic Fatigue
• Emotional Difficulties
• Stress and Tension-Related Problems
• Fibromyalgia and other Connective-Tissue Disorders
• Temporomandibular Joint Syndrome (TMJ)
• Neurovascular or Immune Disorders
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Post-Surgical Dysfunction

SomatoEmotional Release (SER) is a therapeutic process that uses and expands on the principles of CranioSacral Therapy to help rid the mind and body of the residual effects of trauma.”

Sometimes difficult memories created under stress cause a restriction that is trapped in the connective tissue. When these restrictions are released the memory is also released and may let go in an emotional wave that may be as vividly painful as when the memory was first created. However, you also have the realization that you are safe now, the actual trauma is past and it’s OK to let go of the memory. Sometimes passive muscles react to the signals and stretch and twist and turn to further improve the flow of lymphatic fluid. You might feel that your body has taken on a mind of its own, moving with unknown intent or purpose. You might walk away feeling like you have had an internal massage, you might feel out of balance, not realizing you may have walked in out of balance and might be leaving more attune with yourself.

 How does CranioSacral Therapy Work?
According to Dr. Upledger, the central nervous system is heavily influenced by the craniosacral system – the membranes and fluid that surround, protect and nourish the brain and spinal cord. Every day stresses and strains can cause body tissues to tighten and distort the craniosacral system. These distortions can then cause tension to form around the brain and spinal cord resulting in restrictions, similar to high blood pressure in the vascular system. This can create a barrier to the healthy performance of the central nervous system, and potentially every other system it interacts with. With a light touch, the CST practitioner uses his or her hands to evaluate the craniosacral system by gently feeling various locations of the body to test for the ease of motion and rhythm of the cerebrospinal fluid pulsing around the brain and spinal cord. Soft-touch techniques are then used to release restrictions in any tissues influencing the craniosacral system. For more information on craniosacral therapy, or to find a craniosacral therapist near you to go to:  www.upledger.com

What is Reflexology?

Reflexology is a form of bodywork that focuses primarily on the feet. The underlying theory behind Reflexology is that there are "reflex" areas on the feet and hands that correspond to specific organs, glands, and other parts of the body. It’s based on the premise that all nerves of the spinal cord connect from the top of the head to the feet. The toes reflect the head, the ball of the foot reflects the heart and chest, the arch of the foot the liver, pancreas, and kidney, etc.

Early Practitioners believed that applying pressure to these reflex areas could promote health in the corresponding organs through energetic pathways. Dr. William H. Fitzgerald, an ear, nose and throat physician introduced this concept in 1915. Eunice Ingram, a physiotherapist further developed it in the 1930's into what is called Reflexology. More recently, Dr Jesus Manzanares has established the neurophysiological basis of reflexology. His work has demonstrated that deposits that are being rubbed out on the feet have a higher nerve fiber and vascular element than similar appearing hypodermis level deposits. His research has further defined the communication pathways involved in Reflexology. To learn more about his work go to www.manzanaresmethod.com

I went to Reflexology because I was frustrated with my Asthma and my dependence on inhalers. My chest felt congested most of the time, with a constant awareness of decreased lung capacity. I had been trying to exercise but I needed to be able to breath better to exercise. My body felt disconnected. I really wanted this treatment to work, as my therapist was rubbing on my feet I tried to figure out which organ connection she was rubbing on based on the sensations in my body. I could identify when she hit the zone for my lungs because I inadvertently took a deep breath that seemed free of restriction. I could tell when she was working on my pelvis because I would get a muscle spasm that would ripple through my abdomen, it felt like an internal stretching or flexing of unknown muscles and tissues, an unwinding of a knot. With each session I became more aware of the internal workings of my body. I always left a session feeling very relaxed like I had just had a warm internal shower, relaxed and content but revitalized. In one session my therapist was rubbing on the inside edge of my foot, in a new area, and she said “I just went to a seminar and learned something new; did you have a trauma 12 years ago, maybe a car accident?” I said, “No, never been in a serious car accident..” As soon as the words were out I felt propelled into the past, and I was sitting in my car white knuckling the steering wheel, feeling like I wanted to scream, driving to work at 10:30pm very unhappy with my life. I was thinking, “my stress level is at a 9.5/10 and I don’t know how to fix it.” I was very frustrated and disappointed in myself; “Why couldn’t I deal better with my situation?” I was working 50-60 hours a week rotating days and nights, my husband was unemployed, we were remodeling our house, I had 3 small children plus a foster child, and 6 people were sleeping in 2 rooms. I suddenly realized that anyone in that situation would have probably felt stressed and I was not deficient for having a hard time dealing with it. I could suddenly appreciate that anyone might feel out of control in this situation. As I “forgave” myself for my feelings of inadequacy, the dream evaporated and so did the stress. Poof it was gone, I felt over exposed, raw, but cleansed. My therapist was unaware of where my mind had been, and the stress that was released, she was still rubbing my feet.

I’ve been told that Reflexology can open nerve connections, remove blockages, and sluggish communication between the brain and internal organs. I’ve been told that we can store emotional dilemmas in our connective tissue, like scar tissue or a cyst, so we don’t have to maintain it in the forefront of our minds. In my mind I can imagine that Reflexology can find these scars or cysts and free them at a time when we are safe in our current situation and have the ability to realize that it’s OK to let them go. Reflexology leaves behind an increased awareness of who I am; an increased connection to the internal workings of my body. It feels like I’ve checked in with my organs and tissues and fine- tuned the electrical system of my body. To find a Reflexologist in your area go to www.integratedreflexologistsofwi.org

What is Functional Medicine?

What if labeling symptoms with a diagnosis code sometimes prevents us from digging deeper to find the real issues? 

Once the disease is labeled we continue to treat the symptoms according to algorithms and treatment plans. I think illness is more individualized than that and spending time investigating the beginning can prevent wasted resources and time. For example, a woman goes to her doctor with high blood pressure, labs and diagnostic tests come out normal. She is given an antihypertensive medication to bring down her blood pressure. What if her blood pressure is elevated because her husband filed for divorce, her son is taking drugs, she is filing bankruptcy, and has a history of poor nutrition. She is losing her ability to cope. The antihypertensive pill may lower her blood pressure but it really isn’t fixing the underlying cause of her high blood pressure.

“Functional Medicine is a personalized, systems-oriented model that empowers patients and practitioners to achieve the highest expression of health by working in collaboration to address the underlying causes of disease”, according to Dr. David Jones and Sheila Quinn from the Institute for Functional Medicine.  They go on to say, “Functional Medicine practitioners spend time with their patients, listening to their histories and looking at the interactions among genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors that can influence long term health and complex, chronic disease.” Functional medicine is looking at the whole person, putting together a time line of events that may have affected overall health and focusing on a treatment plan that treats current disease as well as working to prevent future health problems.   

 Functional medicine suggests that there are many factors affecting health including Nutrition, Sedentary lifestyle, chronic stress, poverty/uninsured, environmental toxicity, indoor living, and an aging population. Functional medicine aims at integrating the science of medicine with the art of clinical practice. It works to restore balance in the complex adaptive system that is the human being.

The Human body has several built in back up mechanisms. We use calcium to relax heart and other muscle, for bone strength, and we can use it as a buffer in digestion. The body can pull mineral stores from many internal sources to satisfy the body’s needs. Imagine that our brain prioritizes where vitamins and minerals are utilized based on critical need. It would make sense that a lack of calcium might affect muscle relaxation, our ability to buffer acid in our stomach and cause brittle bones. A long term dietary deficiency of calcium might relate to indigestion, body aches and muscle cramps. Taking a drug for pain in this case might not be as beneficial as identifying dietary deficiencies, genetic history and assessing lifestyle. To further complicate this example, if we need Vitamin D to absorb calcium and we don’t have enough in our environment,  we might have enough calcium but a decreased ability to utilize it. The calcium deficiency may not be found in a blood test because the brain is regulating the supply of calcium and might find the calcium level of the blood to have a higher priority than calcium in the bone. 

Looking at the whole picture might better identify a timeline of when the body demonstrated it was losing it’s ability to cope and what deficiencies led to the problem. Identifying the cause and treating the true dysfunction might prevent a health problem from continuing to escalate, and prevent subsequent additional system failures. Functional medicine can go into great depth investigating environmental exposures, lifestyle influences, and genetic predispositions to determine an evolving plan of action as the body continues to adapt.

According to the Institute for Functional Medicine,

“Functional medicine is shaped by seven core principles:

1.    Acknowledging the biochemical individuality of each human being, based on concepts of genetic and environmental uniqueness.

2.    Incorporating a patient-centered rather than disease-centered approach to treatment.

3.    Seeking a dynamic balance among the internal and external factors in a patient’s body, mind, and spirit.

4.    Addressing the web-like interconnections of internal physiological factors.

5.    Identifying health as a positive vitality-not merely the absence of disease- and emphasizing those factors that encourage a vigorous physiology

6.    Promoting organ reserve as a means of enhancing health span, not just the life span, of each patient.

7.    Functional Medicine is a science-using profession.”