CranioSacral Therapy

The maxillae, palatine bones and the hard palate are part of the bony structure of the face.  This video focuses on the maxillae, palatines, and the hard palate in different views: front, side, back and bottom.  The horizontal portions of the maxillae and the palatines form the hard palate.

Atypical position, or distorted shape, of the maxillae, palatine bones or hard palate can cause a wide range of problems, such as:

• Sinus congestion or inflammation,
• Ear infection,
• Temporomandibular joint pain,
• Ear pain,
• Headache,
• Ear infection,
• Eye pain,
• General face pain,
• Malocclusion,
• Difficulty chewing or swallowing,
• Difficulty breast feeding or using a bottle,
• Difficulty speaking,
• Mouth breathing,
• Lack of smell,
• Intracranial membrane strain leading to issues, such as: endocrine disorders, immune system compromise, anxiety, difficulty paying attention or remembering things, and movement impairment.

Craniosacral therapy can help to decrease atypical position, or distortions in the shape, of the maxillae, palatine bones and hard palate.   This can help to alleviate not only the conditions mentioned above but other issues that may arise due to the interrelated nature of the body.

Facilitated Segments are spinal cord neurons (nervous system cells) that become:

• hypersensitive,
• hyperactive (responding to stimuli that they would not normally respond to),
• dysautonomic (disrupting autonomic nervous system balance), and
• dystrophic (de-vitalizing body tissue).

Facilitated segments can cause alterations in normal neurological signaling, which can lead to visceral and body tissue dysfunction, as well as homeostatic imbalance and harmful stress levels.

When an area of the spinal cord becomes facilitated it may affect other neurons as irritation travels from side to side and/or up and down the spinal cord and the sympathetic chain.  The sympathetic chain is a portion of the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system that modulates and directs neurological signals.

Neurons of the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system originate in spinal cord levels T1 through L2 and are referred to as “pre-ganglionic” neurons.  They synapse (communicate) with ”post-ganglionic” neurons in ganglia (clusters of neurons and synapses) before proceeding to their target tissue.  (Except the adrenal glands, which are innervated by both pre and post-ganglionic neurons.)

Notes Regarding The Illustration Titled, “Facilitated Segments”

 Illustrated by Tad Wanveer, LMBT, CST-D:

Figure #1 shows an example of how irritation from a facilitated segment at the level of T8 may not only affect the liver but also cause other neurons to become facilitated as the irritation travels to neurons, ganglia, and associated tissue of the sympathetic division.

Figure #2 shows the control of blood vessels, sweat glands and hair follicles throughout the entire body.

Figure #3 shows the central nervous system and the sympathetic chain of the autonomic nervous system within the body.

Figure #4 shows an enlarged view of the craniosacral system as it surrounds, protects, nourishes and cleanses the central nervous system; the sympathetic chain of the autonomic nervous system; pre and post-ganglionic neurons; the central nervous system; and ganglia.

Figures #5 and #6 show the viscera that are controlled by the nerves.

Irritated nerve cells (INCs) can cause a wide range of ill health, such as: pain, chronic stress, migraine, dizziness, or difficulty breathing. Craniosacral Therapy can reduce nerve cell irritation, which helps the body heal.

INCs can be anywhere in the body’s vast neurological network. They can be in the brain, or spinal cord, or clumps of nerves called ganglia. Nerves receive, organize, modify, and transmit information required for all activity, like: sleeping, walking, talking, eating, or thinking, to name a few.

Nerves form communication networks with other nerves, or with body parts. When nerve cells become hyper-irritated they can no longer do their job in an organized way. This disorganization causes chaotic communication between nerves, or between nerves and body parts.

Body parts can lose normal function when neurological communication is chaotic.  For instance, INCs within the spinal cord communicating with a leg muscle may cause that muscle to be in chronic spasm, or INCs within an area of the brain involved in memory processing may cause difficulty remembering recent experiences.

Often INCs are undetected because they are hidden in the nervous system.  If INCs are not found then they remain the cause of dysfunction.  When the cause of dysfunction is not addressed then the effects of that cause will usually persist.

Craniosacral therapy can locate INCs and then help the body reduce nerve cell hyper-irritation.  This can lessen harmful nerve stress, which stimulates normal nerve-to-nerve, nerve-to-body, or body-to-nerve, communication. Greater ease of function within the nervous system and within the body arises as nerve communication normalizes, thus helping the body heal in a multitude of ways.

Nerve cells of the brain are constantly talking to each other. This neural conversation can be observed in a number of ways, such as measuring blood flow to brain areas.  Increases in blood flow signify increased neural talk, whereas less blood flow signifies decreased neural talk.

One way neural activity is represented is in musical form.  Increases and decreases in neural conversations are represented as notes harmonically or discordantly changing.

CranioSacral Therapy works with the brain’s rhythmic motion to help release restrictions that may be distorting neurons or neuronal pathways.  Perhaps CST also helps to harmonize brain regions so that neurons, or groups of neurons, can optimize the way they communicate.  This can enhance information flow and elevate processing neurological information, which can lead to improved function of the brain.

The craniosacral rhythm is an ongoing cycle of expansion and contraction of the entire body that takes place about nine times every minute. Every so often the rhythm pauses for an extended period of time; this pause is called a stillpoint. Stillpoints occur spontaneously, or CranioSacral Therapy manual techniques can bring them about, or stillpoints can be self-produced using a devise called a stillpoint inducer.

William G. Sutherland, D.O., creator of Cranial Osteopathy, made the first stillpoint inducer. He wanted to improve overall health and well-being by enhancing the function of vital physiological centers located in the brainstem. He thought he could do this by increasing the flow of cerebrospinal fluid into the brainstem by using a device to compress the fourth ventricle (a cavity in the brain containing cerebrospinal fluid) forward.  The devise he created was made of two catcher’s mitts sewn together so they formed a “V” shaped headrest, and a strap attached to the mitts.

Dr. Sutherland described lying down, placing the back of his head (occiput) upon the “V” shape, and then compressing his occiput by tightening the strap, which was wrapped around his head. He stayed in this position for a little while and experienced such profound inner quietness that he described his feeling as a “state of inanimation”.  Immediately after taking the contraption off his head he recounted, “A sensation of warmth followed, and a remarkable movement of fluid, up and down the spinal column, throughout the ventricles, and surrounding the brain.” “Fantastic!” “Believe it or not there also was movement of my sacrum!” In addition he described feeling a fluctuating motion of cerebrospinal fluid.

Various devices have been made to simulate Dr. Sutherland’s original baseball mitt apparatus (minus the strap), such as two tennis balls in a sock, or shaped foam. These devices are known as stillpoint inducers.  Stillpoints can rejuvenate and optimize one’s health, and they can help in a myriad of ways, such as by increasing energy, alleviating headache, lessening pain, decreasing stress, removing fluid congestion, or reducing anxiety.

Abbreviations:

CSR = craniosacral rhythm, ECM = extracellular matrix

The craniosacral rhythm (CSR) is an ongoing minute full-body movement that helps each cell in the body flourish.  Cells must have uninterrupted access to essential nutrients, oxygen, and pathways that process waste products.  Illness or dysfunction can develop when the flow of substances to, or from, cells is compromised.

Flow to and from the cells is dependent upon the quality of the material in which cells live; this material is called the extracellular matrix (ECM).  Everything cells require to survive and function passes through the ECM, and everything cells get rid of likewise passes through the ECM.  The motion of the CSR helps move substances throughout the ECM.

The CSR is an ongoing cyclic movement that occurs six to twelve times per minute.  Each cycle is made of two phases.  One phase causes a slight expansion of the body and the other phase causes a slight contraction of the body.  The CSR expansion and contraction phases are reflected throughout the entire body, including the ECM.

During the expansion phase the ECM spreads itself out a little which helps to propel substances towards cells.  During the contraction phase the ECM squeezes itself slightly helping to propel waste material away from cells.  When the ECM does not easily expand or squeeze then elements cannot flow efficiently through it, and this can cause cell deficiency or toxicity that can eventually lead to illness and dysfunction.

A major cause of decreased ECM expanding or squeezing is adverse tension of the ECM, which may be formed by problems such as inflammation, traumatic impact, scar tissue or infection.  This often leads to thickening of the ECM, or the development of pulls and twists within the matrix, which can all reduce the flow of substances.

To release stressful ECM areas the CSR is used first to locate and then release the strained areas.  As the ECM regains its normal consistency and pattern the natural flow to and from cells can be reestablished, cells will be able to thrive at their peak levels, and when cells thrive the body as a whole flourishes.

The ventricles in one of Leonardo DaVinci’s anatomical drawings are huge and a different form than human ventricles. He was an extraordinary artist. Why did he draw them out of scale? This question led me to explore the ventricles from an historical perspective. The following is a brief account.

• Systemic human dissection began in the Hellenistic Era (323-30BC). Herophilus of Chalcedon practiced as a physician around 300BC and he preformed hundreds of dissections. He proposed that the fourth ventricle housed the soul.

• Galen of Pergamon (129-216AD) was a physician, physiologist, philosopher, and writer who is often considered the most important contributor to medicine following Hippocrates. He suggested that animal spirits are produced in the choroid plexuses of the ventricles, and that these spirits act as the physical manifestation of the soul.

• Around 400AD, Nemesius, Bishop of Emesa (which was in Syria), blended the medical science of Galen with Christian theology and stated that the ventricles are the home of the soul and that each ventricle has a specific function. He related perception to the two lateral ventricles, cognition to the third, and memory to the fourth. Scholarly Christians supported this view throughout the Dark Ages (476-1000AD).

• Leonardo DaVinci (1452-1519AD), painter, sculptor, architect, scientist and master of other disciplines, proposed that the ventricles are the home of the soul, sensation, cognition and memory. DaVinci used oxen for some of his ventricle research. One method he used was to insert a tube into opposite ends of the ventricles. He poured melted wax into one tube, and as this wax flowed into the ventricles it displaced cerebrospinal fluid, which drained out of the other tube. When the wax cooled he dissected the form out of the brain and in doing so had a replica of the oxen ventricles. In one of his anatomical drawings he drew the oxen ventricular form within a human brain.

• Rene Descartes (1596-1650AD) was a philosopher who used geometry, physics and mechanical models to explain his ideas. He thought that tiny particles from the blood filtered into the pineal gland and the pineal converted these particles into animal spirits. These spirits were then released by the pineal gland into the ventricles. The pineal would mechanically pull on the ventricular walls to direct the flow of these spirits into the nerves allowing them to flow into the body. He also believed that it was through the pineal gland that the soul became aware of the flow of animal spirits, which allowed the soul to perceive, imagine and generate new ideas.

• Thomas Willis (1621-1675AD) was a physician and brilliant researcher. He proposed that only humans possess an immortal soul, and it cannot be studied anatomically or physiologically since it is intangible. On the other hand perception, cognition and memory, which he called the corporeal (physical) soul, can be linked to the brain and consequently can be studied scientifically. He proposed that the brain tissue itself was the site of the physical soul, not the ventricles.

• William G. Sutherland, D.O. (1873-1954AD), the creator of Cranial Osteopathy, believed that a divine spirit enters the ventricles. He called this spirit the “breath of life” and it is carried by cerebrospinal fluid to the entire body. Thus the breath of life is manifested in the anatomy and physiology of each cell and the body as a whole. Dr. Sutherland hypothesized that the breath of life merges with brain pulsations to create the craniosacral rhythm.

• John E. Upledger, D.O., O.M.M., (1932- present) the founder of CranioSacral Therapy, proposed that the ventricles mechanically create the craniosacral rhythm. He suggests that the ventricles produce cerebrospinal fluid in on-and-off phases. These phases create an increase and decrease of cerebrospinal fluid pressure within the container of the brain and spinal cord. The fluid pressure changes are then felt as the craniosacral rhythm.

The ventricles are cavities deep within the brain, birdlike in form with wings, body and tail located within major portions of the brain.

• Does the soul enter the ventricles or reside within them?

• Do the ventricles or cerebrospinal fluid manifest some form of unique universal vibration or divine essence?

• Body form creates itself to fulfill specific functions. Does the shape or location of the ventricles suggest a purpose far beyond cerebrospinal fluid production?

Why are some children born with, or develop, grave illness?

Jordan was two and a half when he came to the clinic with his mom. He was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor six months earlier. His mom said his speech was declining; he was loosing the use of his left arm and hand, which he called “lefty”; his sight was getting blurry; his organs were slowly shutting down; and his head was hurting more and more. He’d have good days and bad days although bad days were sweeping away the good ones.

I treated Jordan twice a week for a little over a year until he was too frail to come to the clinic; he stayed at home in the loving care of his mom and dad, with snuggles from his kitty Momo. He sank deeper and deeper into the grip of the tumor, which was smashing down upon his brainstem.

While I was working in the clinic Jordan’s dad called. “Hi Tad, Jordan passed away yesterday afternoon; he was home in bed, comfortable and peaceful.” He said more but I couldn’t hear anything else, only that Jordan was gone.

That evening I finished late, the clinic was quiet, I thought everyone had gone home when I heard Dr. Upledger’s familiar stride coming down the hallway. He sat in a chair beside my desk, smiled and said, “How are you?” I said, “I’m OK, well not really, I want to quit.” “Why do you want to do that?” was his calm reply.

After listening to my description of Jordan he asked, “Did you do everything you could do to help him?” I paused then said, “Yes, everything.” He took a slow breath, “That is all we can do. I know you helped him in many ways, maybe not changing the final outcome but you did help him.” I didn’t say anything but thought, “Yeah, so what? He died anyway.” He said, “Don’t stay too late, go home, and get some rest. Call me if you’d like, any time, OK? I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I stayed at the office for a while longer. Did Craniosacral Therapy help Jordan at all; did it help him have greater ease while he lived or as he passed? Dr. Upledger helped me accept that Jordan had his own path upon this earth and I was fortunate to accompany him for a brief period.

It dawned upon me one day that children with disorders are bodhisattvas, wisdom-beings of great compassion. They ask of us one thing and that is to be fully present, to softly stay in the moment, no matter what may be happening. They are beings of pure light illuminating the way for all of us to sense beyond physical manifestation into the heart of acceptance, kindness, understanding, listening, and love.

The 10-Step Protocol is a sequence of evaluation and treatment techniques that were developed by Dr. John E. Upledger, D.O., O.M.M. The steps are an effective way to treat a wide range of client conditions, and the steps form the foundation of all the techniques used in Upledger CranioSacral Therapy.

The Upledger Institute has recently posted the entire 10-Step protocol on You Tube. The videos are presented in separate steps. A You Tube search for “CranioSacral Therapy Upledger” will locate the videos. Here is a link to the video on “Stillpoint Induction” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZSVzAoeQ8Q

Even though a number of Upledger techniques and concepts have changed over the years it is helpful to review the material while keeping the changes in mind. Watching and listening to Dr. Upledger is a good review and a helpful reminder to rest fully in the groundwork of CranioSacral Therapy.

Abnormal brain shape may be a factor in autism spectrum disorder (ASD).  Structure and function are inseparable; alterations in one, to some degree, will modify the other.  CranioSacral Therapy can help optimize brain structure, which often improves function.

The irregularly shaped brain areas associated with ASD are the:

• amygdala,
• hippocampus,
• corpus callosum,
• cerebellum.

The amygdala regulates emotions and aggression. The hippocampus is involved in learning and memory. The corpus callosum is the main pathway for brain intercommunication.  The cerebellum is linked to movement control as well as attention shifting.  Dysfunction of these structures may explain some of the atypical behavior seen in ASD.

A primary focus of CranioSacral Therapy is helping the body decrease structural stress so the body can improve function, which has been shown to help those with ASD improve communication with others, enhance interaction with their surroundings, and promote a feeling of inner ease.