What is CranioSacral Therapy?
A light touch…with deep results
Craniosacral Therapy is a deeply relaxing and restorative experience. A light touch is used to release the stress and tension stored in your body. The client remains fully clothed for the session. It is highly effective for addressing:
- Back Pain
- Neck and Shoulder Tension
- Sinus Problems
- Headaches
- Ear Problems
CranioSacral Therapy works by releasing restrictions and tightness in the fascia (connective tissue) in the head and body. The therapy gets its name from the areas of the body the treatment concentrates on — the head and the entire length of the spine from the cranium to the sacrum.
Why Try it?
Your body is made up of:
- Muscles
- Bones
- Fascia (connective tissue)
- Nervous system
- Organs
Sometimes people try massage (muscle work) and chiropractic (bone/nervous system work), but don’t seem to get much relief, whereas they see others getting good results. Neither of these modalities work directly on the fascia, which connects the entire body together. If the problem is created by imbalances in the fascia, the problem won’t be resolved by chiropractic and massage. If the root of the problem is within the fascia, CranioSacral therapy can resolve the problem.
One of my clients came to me with constant neck pain. She had two neck surgeries to fuse vertebrae in her neck. The surgeries stopped the pain for a while, but 11 months later the constant sharp pain was back. Her doctors told her that they did not think the pain was from a third bulging disk, and so had no solution for her. She left her craniosacral therapy session pain free, and at her next appointment said she hadn’t felt this good in three years. It appears that for her, addressing restrictions in the fascia is what was needed to resolve much of the pain.
How Many Treatments Will I Need?
Treatments have a cumulative effect. The first treatments release tension in the surface of the body, and subsequent treatments release underlying imbalances that lie deeper in the body. Usually the longer you have had the problem, the longer it takes to resolve. I have yoga students who come four times and find their back pain is resolved, and just come on occasion if a problem arises later. Other clients, who have suffered headaches for a decade or more, find that monthly visits keeps the headaches at bay.
If the problem is fairly serious, I often suggest that the first few visits be fairly close together (1-2 weeks apart), so the body has an opportunity to hold onto the changes it is experiencing. This helps the body release into a healthy pattern that will persist. After that, we both use our intuition and trial-and-error to determine an appropriate distance between appointments until the problem is resolved.
How Does It Help Problems Arising in the Head?
The head is made up of 22 separate bones, all which move with the pumping of the fluid that surrounds the brain. Each bone has it own unique healthy movement that is associated with it, which the practitioner can feel. Ideally, the brain fluid flows easily throughout the system. However, if bones get jammed against each other, and the bones are no longer moving freely, problems arise. CranioSacral Therapy helps by releasing the jammed bones and restoring healthy movement.
Concussions. Most concussions are caused by impact against a solid object (but some are not!). When the head is hit, often the bones of the head can become stuck against each other. The bones no longer retain the subtle movement that arises out of the pumping of the cerebrospinal fluid. Although craniosacral therapy cannot heal brain tissue (only time can), it can restore the movement of the bones of the cranium, which helps restore the flow of cerebral spinal fluid throughout the brain. Our brain depends on a healthy flow of fluid to bring nutrients to all the brain cells, and remove breakdown products of the cells. CranioSacral Therapy can help with restoring movement and flow of this fluid.
Sinus problems are often caused by jams in the cheekbones and in the bones that contain sinus cavities: the ethmoid (located behind the nose), frontal bones (located above the eyebrows), the sphenoid (behind the eyes) and maxilla (at the upper lip and teeth area). Often clients with this problem get relief fairly quickly after a few treatments.
Ear Problems are often caused by tension at the temporal bones. The temporal bones are round-shaped bones located underneath the ears. Releasing the temporal bones can have a positive impact on ear problems. One client had ear congestion for days after airplane flights. She was curious to see what would happen after her first treatment, as she was flying the next day. She had no congestion after her flight, and was pleased to be able to hear well while she was on vacation..
Headaches can be a fairly complex problem to work with because diet, nutrition, and other things can also have such an impact on them. Sometimes headaches arise from imbalances in the fascia of the body and the head. Others may have problems that center more specifically on the head. Often people with headaches come to me with very tight temporal bones. Others come with other bones that have significant restrictions. After several treatments, the client will be able to tell if craniosacral therapy has a big or small impact on their headaches.
How Does It Help With Neck, Shoulder, and Lower Back Pain?
Much of the fascia fibers run lengthwise in the body. At certain points in the body, the fascia also runs crosswise. (Interestingly enough, the crosswise-running fascia line up with the Chakras described in yoga!). The fibers run crosswise at the pelvis, diaphragm, heart, throat, and inside the brain just above the eyes. These fibers can get a twist in them from injuries and repetitive motions, pulling the body off balance and eventually causing pain as the body tries to compensate for them. Craniosacral therapy can release these imbalances, so that the body no longer has to strain to keep in alignment. I am often amazed how fast the neck and low back respond to treatment — I think it is because those areas have a high concentration of fascial tissue, and since CranioSacral therapy works directly on the fascia, those areas respond quickly.
Call me at 651-773-9687 to make an appointment or ask for more information