We’ve
all felt the rhythmic cycles of our heartbeat and breathing, but did
you know that your spinal fluid has a similar cycle? It circulates throughout
your body in its own rhythmic motion, independent of your heartbeat
and breath, moving in and out of the brain cavity, and up and down the
spinal column to the sacrum and back. The skull— which is not
one solid bone, but several bones joined together by hinged fissures—expands
and contracts while the fluid flows in and out of the brain cavity.
The whole works is called the craniosacral system.
So what do these odd spinal hydraulics
have to do with health? Just like any other bodily system, the craniosacral
system can get out of whack and lead to other complications in the body.
Traumas from injuries, operations or illnesses can stifle the natural
flow of fluid in the craniosacral system, resulting in loss of vision
or hearing, headaches and other symptoms. The practice of craniosacral
therapy seeks to bring the system back into balance, which very often
eliminates the other symptoms immediately.
“Craniosacral therapy is
a gentle, hands-on method of whole-body evaluation and care that can
have a positive impact on nearly every system of the body,” says
John E. Upledger, D.O., O.M.M., president and founder of the Upledger
Institute in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. “Craniosacral therapy
helps normalize the environment of the craniosacral system, which consists
of the membranes and spinal fluid that surround and protect the brain
and spinal cord. Restrictions or imbalances in the craniosacral system
may directly affect any or all aspects of the central nervous system,
which in turn can negatively affect the entire body.”
Here’s how it works. Cerebral
spinal fluid is constantly being produced in a region of the brain called
the choroid plexus; at the same time, the fluid that’s circulating
in the body is being reabsorbed. This creates an ebb and flow of fluid
through the brain and spinal column. This action protects and maintains
the core elements of the central nervous system— the brain and
spinal column, which can be considered the motherboard of the human-body
system.
All activities, from involuntary
movements like breathing and blood pressure to conscious acts such as
thinking and walking, are processed in the central nervous system. So,
when the central nervous system is off, things can go wrong elsewhere
in the body. Likewise, when there is trauma in the body, it can affect
the central nervous system.
Upledger says that craniosacral
therapy is effective for a wide range of medical problems associated
with pain and dysfunction, including migraines, neck and back pain,
motor-coordination impairments, fibromyalgia and other connective-tissue
disorders, temporomandibular joint syndrome (lock jaw), post traumatic
stress disorder, chronic fatigue, emotional difficulties and stress,
colic in infants, autism and learning disorders including ADHD. Craniosacral
therapy is also increasingly used as a preventive health measure to
bolster resistance against disease.
Additionally, craniosacral therapy
can be very helpful to newborns and infants, who have recently undergone
the trauma of childbirth, and may be continually exposed to head, neck
and back stress as a result of sleeping on a bed outside the womb.
The craniosacral therapist is
trained to evaluate the whole body, looking for clues to problem-causing
tension. When giving a craniosacral treatment, the therapist is attempting
to “reboot” the motherboard in order to give the body the
best possible chance at its own healing and recovery.
“As a simple example, if
you come with a headache and I examine you, I may find that the source
of your pain is not in your head, but in your pelvis and sacrum,”
says Roy Dejarlais, L.M.T., CST-D, program director and staff clinician
at the Upledger Institute. “In this case I will work to free up
the tension in that area, which will probably relieve the headache.”
The roots of craniosacral therapy
date back to the late 1870s when Andrew Taylor Still, M.D., founded
the American School of Osteopathy (now the Kirksville College of Osteopathic
Medicine in Kirksville Missouri) and brought to medicine the osteopathic
philosophy of treating the whole person, with an emphasis on the inter-relationship
between the body's nerves, muscles, bones and organs.
In the early 1900s, one of Still’s
students, William Sutherland, D.O., took the practice a step further
and coined cranial osteopathy, which specifically included the movement
of the head bones and the flow of cerebral spinal fluid. More recently,
Upledger developed what is now known as craniosacral therapy. His major
contribution to the practice was working with the fascia—tough
connective tissue throughout the body—not just the bones. “Dr.
Upledger realized that the membrane system in the brain and spinal chord
is made up of fascia, which has the ability to get restricted,”
says Desjarlais.“If you just release the bones, you might not
get at what is really causing the problem.” Gentle touch with
light pressure is the chosen fascia-releasing technique of craniosacral
therapists, who believe that a more forceful manipulation will likely
cause a tensing-alarm reaction and possible lockdown in the body tissues.
Generally using about five grams of pressure, roughly the weight of
a nickel, the practitioner evaluates the system by testing for ease
of motion and the rhythm of cerebrospinal fluid pulsing within the membranes.
Specific treatment techniques are then used to release restrictions
in fascia, membranes and any other tissues that may influence the craniosacral
system. The result is an improved internal environment that frees the
central nervous system to return to its optimal levels of health and
performance.
Beyond the physical, modern cranial
sacral therapy includes the awareness of energetics and emotions in
the diagnosis process.
“If you ignore the human
conditions of energy and emotion when dealing with illness or impairment,
then you are ignoring a huge clue to how and why the body holds tension,”
says Desjarlais. “It is possible, even from a non-psychological
point of view, for the body to be in a physically compensated state
from habitual emotional patterns.”
Today, craniosacral therapy is
practiced around the world. The Upledger Institute alone has trained
more than 60,000 therapists. But the Institute is not the only source
of training, and other sister practices, such as sacral occipital technique
(SOT), use similar techniques and aim for like results.
When seeking out a therapist,
the letters “C.S.T.-D.” (craniosacral therapist, diplomate)
indicate that the practitioner has completed the highest level of training
offered by the Upledger Institute—but that doesn’t mean
that the only qualified practitioners are Upledger-certified. Like many
alternative health practices, craniosacral therapy is not government
regulated and certification is not a requirement. Often, word of mouth
can be the best resource for quality practitioners in your area. Of
course, a comfortable relationship with the practitioner and real results
are important qualifiers too.
Typically, sessions last about
an hour and cost from $70 to $100. Anewcomer should commit to three
to five sessions, usually getting results by session three, if not earlier.
Resources, local and beyond
To find a practitioner or learn
more about craniosacral therapy, check out the following resources:
- www.iahp.com/pages/search/index.php:
search engine to help you find a craniosacral practitioner
- www.upledger.com:
home page of the Upledger Institute. Lots of info and resources
- CranioSacral Therapy: Touchstone
for Natural Healing, by John Upledger, D.O., O.M.M. (North Atlantic
Books, 2001)
- Your Inner Physician and You:
Craniosacral Therapy and Somatoemotional Release, by John Upledger,
D.O., O.M.M. (North Atlantic Books, 1997)
The following practitioners are
Nexus advertisers who offer craniosacral therapy. Look for their ads
on the pages listed next to their names to learn more about them:
- Tara Skye Goldin, ND; 303-443-2206,
www.DrTaraSkyeGoldin.com;
- Joy Om; 303-449-8664;
- Pam Severance; 303-544-0093;
- Alison Watt, RN, Dip C., PhD
(ABD); 303-245-0408 Training in craniosacral therapy is offered by:
- The Colorado School of Energy
Studies; 303-443-9847, www.energyschool.com
JULY/AUGUST 2008 FEATURE ARTICLES
