« Breast Cancer Effects Career Change | Fingertips Home | The Benefits of Baby Massage »

March 12, 2005

CranioSacral Therapy To The Rescue Again

One of the more satisfying aspects of my practice is helping people who have tried just about everything to feel better and finally turn to massage to find relief. Occasionally I can help people with protracted pain conditions, even if the relief is short-term, a good night's sleep every once in a while is a godsend.

Just such a client came to me this week. They arrived early for their appointment and had such a long list of ills that they worked on the intake form 15 minutes into their appointment time.

Along with fibromyalgia, the client reported an aching sensation at the base of the skull. Our goal for this first session was simple--get some relief for the head complaint. I immediately thought of craniosacral therapy to address this discomfort. The neck and shoulders of the this client were extremely tight; I had to train the client to relax. Luckily, the muscles responded well to the therapy enough to allow me to perform the cranial base release.

Along with palpating a misaligned axis bone and a series of knots on the right side of the neck leading up to the head, there was much pulling on the muscles of the head. I held the base of the skull in one hand and attempted a frontal bone release (one of the first steps in craniosacral therapy's 10-step protocol) and immediately felt changes in the muscles on the right side of the neck. We were on the right track.

But, we were running short on time. I wanted the client to have some lasting result of our work. I performed the mastoid ear-pull technique, explaining the importance of this to the client. They said it felt wonderful. I felt like we got enough softening with these simple techniques. To finish the session, I performed still point which helps the body integrate and hold the changes achieved in the session.

The client got off of the table without any dizziness--a good sign. They reported feeling much better in the movement of their head. I encouraged gentle head rolling stretches to help retain what freedom of motion they had.

Posted by linda at March 12, 2005 5:55 PM