While I was a student at Bastyr University, I studied CranioSacral Therapy in addition to the required Physical Medicine coursework. This gentle form of bodywork can provide profound healing on all levels- emotional and mental as well as physical. It is as relaxing as a deep tissue massage even though it involves only light touch over a fully-clothed patient. It is ideal for children, elders, those in chronic pain and anyone who responds better to more gentle treatments.
How does CranioSacral therapy work? It stimulates our bodies’ self-healing mechanisms by stimulating the brain, spinal cord and nervous system using the healing power of touch. Prolactin levels (a relaxing hormone) increase when people touch each other. Human bodies have a measurable electrical charge. We can literally give another person a “jump start” by putting a hand on them. CranioSacral Therapy (CST) stimulates the healing power of nature using this innate mechanism. It is so simple and gentle that I am in constant wonder at how powerful it is as a healing tool. This is the beauty of naturopathic medicine and the therapeutic order we follow. Often the least invasive and most simple treatments are all we need to heal.
I recently did a CST treatment on a patient I hadn’t seen for a few years. She lives 400 miles away, but came to see me on her way south on vacation to help with her shoulder pain. The last time I saw her she had debilitating knee pain that was seriously lowering her quality of life. She is a dynamic, active senior who loves to dance and she wasn’t able to go out dancing anymore due to the pain. I wasn’t very optimistic that I would be able to do much more that temporarily relieve her pain using CST, but thought it was a good starting point along with some Calcium magnesium and anti-inflammatory enzyme supplementation and contrast hydrotherapy at home.
Most CST therapists, who are required to be licensed NDs, massage therapists, physical therapists, nurses, MDs, DOs, etc., work on the whole body and not just where the pain is located. I worked on my patient’s shoulders, upper back, jaw, cranial bones, lower back, hips and knees over the course of an hour. By “worked on” I mean simply put my hands on those areas using a feather weight touch. My hands are feeling for lack of motion. The craniosacral rhythm is a barely-palpable inward/outward motion of all parts of the body starting with each pulse of cerebrospinal fluid out of the ventricles deep within the brain. It is like waves on the shore. If I don’t feel that subtle wave in an area, I simply hold my hands there and ask their body to let what needs to happen occur so healing is possible. Sometimes people’s necks or arms “unwind” and I follow the movements that spontaneosly occur. Sometimes people have emotional releases. Most people just settle into a state of deep relaxation. A few fall right to sleep even! When I feel the rhythm again in a restricted area, I move on the next. It’s that easy.
My patient, the dancer with knee pain, called me a couple weeks later to thank me for curing her knee pain completely in one treatment. She was out dancing again and loving life! I laughed in amazement and told her that her own body did the healing. I was just a catalyst to speed the process up. Naturopathic doctors practice all kinds of physical medicine modalities including spinal adjustments, ultrasound, massage, CST and more- something for everyone!
There is dispute about if and how exactly CST works (see the link above for more), and the results of this case are not typical. I have been practicing this treatment for about nine years now and have seen enough benefits to feel strongly that it is effective. For chronic issues, I usually have people try 3 sessions a week apart and if they are feeling better, we continue. If not, we try some of the many other tools in the naturopath’s bag of tricks until we find what works the best for each individual.
Margaret Philhower, ND
www.drmargaret.org
