By John Upledger, DO, OMM

One of the most rewarding aspects of my career is hearing of manual therapists who use CranioSacral Therapy (CST) to help children lead more comfortable lives.

Over the years, CST has become widely recognized for its effectiveness with autism and other particular challenges. Yet to me, the real beauty is in its everyday practicality. Simply put, anything in the human body that can benefit from greater fluid flow can benefit from CranioSacral Therapy.

In Working Wonders, Changing Lives With CranioSacral Therapy (North Atlantic Books, 2005), Chuck Olson, RMT, shares his personal experiences treating his daughter’s earaches with CST. His story speaks volumes on the power of a gentle touch to make a profound change:

From the day my daughter Jessica was born, she had constant ear infections. We’d go to the pediatrician, who would give us a round of Amoxicillin, which then progressed to Zithromax, which ultimately led to her always being on some form of antibiotic.

This went on for the first three years of her life, even prompting a myringotomy with ear tubes, much to my consternation, shortly after her second birthday. That lasted for about three months, until the tubes fell out and it started all over again.

Shortly after her third birthday, I was in Dallas taking three Myofascial Release classes over a period of ten days. On the third day of classes, the instructors started talking about CranioSacral Therapy (CST). They demonstrated the 10-Step Protocol, which we then practiced for the next couple of hours and once again the following day. They mentioned that CST is very helpful in alleviating ear infections.

The Friday before I was to come home, my wife called to say that she had taken Jessica to an ear-nose-throat (ENT) specialist who told her that Jessica had a complete bilateral blockage. She then proceeded to tell me that they had scheduled a second operation for ear tubes in ten days.

When I got home, I could tell that Jessica had been crying from the pain and was running a fever. That night and for the next five days, for approximately twenty minutes a day, I attempted to employ the rudimentary CST techniques we had been taught. I didn’t know if they would help, but I knew that I didn’t want my daughter to have to repeat the hellish trauma she had been subjected to barely a year before.

The next Tuesday, we went back to the ENT for a pre-op examination. He looked first in one ear and then the other with his scope. His only comment was, “Hmm.” Then he did a tympanogram on both ears and asked, “What was the matter with her?” We told him that she had a complete bilateral blockage of both ears. To this he questioningly remarked, “Really?”

He then put Jessica in the audio booth and ran a full audiogram on her. At the conclusion he said, “Her hearing is perfect. There’s nothing wrong.” Then he said something that I’m sure pained him very much to say, “I’m cancelling her surgery.”

The doctor asked me what we had done to Jessica, and I replied that I had done CranioSacral Therapy on her. He said he had never seen such a rapid recovery from such a severe infection. He commented that he’d heard of CranioSacral Therapy being used for autism, but never for ear infections.

I offered him my card and told him I’d appreciate any referrals he could send my way. Needless to say, I never heard from him, and we haven’t seen him since. That was seven years ago, and Jessica has never had another ear infection!

Within the next couple of weeks, I scheduled my first formal CranioSacral Therapy class through The Upledger Institute and haven’t looked back since. Learning CST was the best thing that ever happened to my bodyworking career and certainly for my daughter.

I have since worked on my nephew for the same reason, with exactly the same results. My stepsister was ecstatic! CST has a faithful following in our family. Thank you, Dr. John!

Thank you, Chuck, for believing in your daughter and the potential of your own skills. And thank you to all you other therapists who are bringing your gifts of compassionate touch to our children. You are leaving a deep imprint on the world.

John Upledger, DO, OMM
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
www.upledger.com

“At the time, I dismissed CranioSacral Therapy as pure bunk,” said Dr. Swingle, now a clinical psychoneurophysiologist in Vancouver and a highly respected biofeedback practitioner. Nonetheless, he agreed to measure the brain activity during the treatment session. “What I found startled me,” he said. “With all the necessary experimental controls in place, I saw a marked change in alpha brainwave amplitude that immediately coincided with the CranioSacral Therapy. I didn’t know exactly what the technique was, but the results so impressed me that I promptly enrolled in a class.”

That was over four years ago. Since then, Dr. Swingle has used CS in his neurotherapy practice to help modify brain functioning to treat a wide range of disorders. “During treatment sessions I obtain EEG measurements. Some of the most important brain effects I’ve witnessed include a marked increase in theta and alpha brainwave amplitude in the back of the brain associated with the induction of a still point.” Dr. Swingle’s discovery was consistent with my early findings at Michigan State University when I was first developing CST, and with studies conducted by Dr. Elmer Green, formerly of the Menninger Clinic and Hospital in Topeka, Kan.

“Slow wave (i.e., theta) deficiency in the occipital region is associated with poor stress tolerance, sleep disturbance, racing thoughts, generalized anxiety, and vulnerability to substance addiction,” said Dr. Swingle. “Neurotherapy that focuses on restoring this deficit is strongly enhanced with still-point induction.”
Currently, Dr. Swingle treats children with involuntary movement disorders and seizure disorders. A major component of his protocol is to “increase the sensory motor rhythm over the sensory motor cortex [roughly across the top of the head from the tips of the ears]. The sensory motor rhythm is represented by brainwave activity between 13 and 15 cycles per second. When made stronger with brainwave biofeedback, it results in increased seizure threshold and reduced involuntary body movements,” he notes. The increased brainwave amplitude Dr. Swingle has witnessed with CST is associated with “calm and passive attentiveness.”

He has also reported an increase in the important sensory motor rhythm when a thoracic release is performed. To illustrate, he performed still point inductions on six patients with closed head injury and one with attention deficit disorder. “The effect of the still point was an increase in theta amplitude from a low of 6.2 percent to a high of over 80 percent,” he reported. “Such changes in theta amplitude can have profound effects on brain quieting.”
Dr. Swingle has reported these findings at various North American conferences. According to Dr. Swingle, children undergoing sensory motor rhythm training strongly benefit by a CST sequence of still point followed by sphenoid, thoracic and occipital releases. In terms of brainwave activity, this CST regimen results in increased amplitude of occipital theta frequencies (mental quieting) and of the sensory motor rhythm (body quieting). “The quieting often occurs immediately,” he added, “and parents usually report a marked, sustained improvement.”

Once a skeptic, Dr. Swingle now strongly advocates the use of CST as part of neurotherapeutic treatment of many disorders. The synergistic effect of these modalities results in “efficient and permanent remediation of many disorders associated with anomalous brain functioning.”

This is a ONE DAY day workshop where you can

Find out what CranioSacral Therapy

Find out how CranioSacral Therapy works

This workshop is aimed at anyone with an interest in CranioSacral Therapy.

The speaker is Ger Swords.  Ger, a director of the Upledger Institute, has been practising CranioSacral Therapy for 10 years at the Fairgreen Holistic Clinic, Naas, Co Kildare.

Venue: Fairways Hotel, Dundalk, Co Louth

Date: Saturday 25th June 2011

Time: 10.00am to 4.00pm

Cost: €50 for the day (Lunch Not Included)

For more information & booking contact:

Upledger Institute Ireland, Fairgreen Holistic Clinic, Naas, Co Kildare.

Phone 045 898243 or email: info@upledger.ie

Dr. Upledger’s colorful case histories explain the path that led to his discovery of this exciting medical modality. The book contains a play-by-play account of the development of CranioSacral Therapy, SomatoEmotional Release, and other concepts and techniques.

Your Inner Physician and You is recommended reading for therapists, patients, caregivers, and anyone interested in understanding how therapy performed on the craniosacral system can improve the quality of life.

This book is required reading for the CranioSacral Therapy I workshop (CSI).(IAHP) 223 pages.