CranioSacral Therapy
What Is CranioSacral Therapy?
CranioSacral Therapy (CST) is a light-touch, manual therapy that releases tensions, as well as restrictions deep in the body to relieve pain, dysfunction, and improve overall health.
Who Can Benefit From CranioSacral Therapy?
Almost anyone can benefit from CST as a preventive health measure due to its effectiveness. The light touch makes it safe for children and infants who have experienced early stress, including birth trauma. By releasing restrictions in the central nervous system early on, future difficulties such as learning disabilities or hyperactivity may be prevented.
What Conditions Can Be Helped By CranioSacral Therapy?
CST complements the body’s natural healing processes. CST is reported by clients to be effective in helping to relieve a wide range of symptoms associated with:
- Autism
- Cancer Treatment
- Central Nervous System Disorders
- Chronic Fatigue
- Concussion Syndrome
- Fibromyalgia
- Headaches and Migraines
- Infant and Childhood Disorders
- Neck and Back Pain
- Orthopedic Problems
- Post-Traumatic Stress
- Scoliosis
- Spinal Cord Injuries
- Stress and Tension Related Disorders
- TMJ Syndrome
- Traumatic Brain Injury
How Does CranioSacral Therapy Work?
The brain and spinal cord are critical structures that influence the body's function. The craniosacral system plays a significant role in the Central Nervous System.
Daily stresses and strains can cause body tissues to tighten and distort the system, leading to tension around the brain and spinal cord.
Fortunately, simple touch methods can be used to detect and correct such restrictions. CST practitioners evaluate the craniosacral system by feeling various locations of the body to test for the ease of motion and rhythm of the cerebrospinal fluid pulsing around the brain and spinal cord, using only 5 grams of pressure.
Soft touch techniques can then release restrictions in any tissues influencing the craniosacral system. By normalizing the environment around the brain and spinal cord and enhancing the body's ability to self-correct, CST can alleviate a wide range of dysfunctions.
What Can I Expect From A Therapy Session?
During a CST session, the client lies fully clothed on a comfortable massage table in a quiet, private setting. Using a light touch, the therapist evaluates the body for tension patterns and imbalances, assessing and treating the craniosacral system using bones and connective tissue.
CST can enhance fluid flow and balance membrane tension; promoting balance and ease.
What Will I Experience After a Session?
CST sessions and their results are unique to each individual. You may leave feeling deeply relaxed or energized. Pain may decrease, and function may increase immediately or develop over the next few days. CST helps the body resume its natural healing processes, and improvements can continue for weeks after the session. You may also experience a reorganization phase as your body releases previously held patterns and adapts to a new state of wellness.
Just as each individual experiences CST sessions differently, the results can be diverse as well. You may leave in such a relaxed state that you feel like sleeping for hours. Or you may leave full of boundless energy. You may feel a decrease in pain or an increase in function immediately after the session, or the effects may develop gradually over the next few days.
Since CST helps the body resume its natural healing processes, it’s common for your improvements to continue weeks after the session.
Are There Any Conditions That Should Not Be Addressed With CranioSacral Therapy?
There are a few situations in which CST is not recommended.
They include:
- Any condition in which slight variations in intracranial pressure would cause instability, such as acute aneurysm, recent skull fracture, and cerebral hemorrhage.
- Severe bleeding disorder.
If you have any questions about whether these situations apply to you, seek the advice of your physician before receiving a CST session.