Mary Lou Smith has healing hands. Among her approaches to restoring and relaxing the body is through a newer technique that is getting much attention of late: Craniosacral therapy.
“Craniosacral therapy has a positive effect on many body functions, therefore benefiting the body’s resistance to disease, and achieving better overall health,” said Smith, who offers craniosacral, reflexology, LaStone massage and other natural approaches out of her Lake Charlevoix home. “It releases tissue restrictions — that’s the best way to describe it.”
Understanding craniosacral
Because I did not fully understand what “releasing tissue restrictions” meant, I asked Smith if she would perform the technique on me for purposes of this article.
Dissecting the two root words, I figured that the therapy had something to do with the head (cranium) and sacrum at the base of the spine. That’s where Smith started as she led me through a typical session. The therapy is gentle, just light pressure is used to release blocked tissues that can occur from stress, injury and other causes.
Smith places her hands under the body and feels for the smooth flow of craniosacral fluid that travels from the head, down the spine and to the base of the back. Smith explained that the craniosacral system consists of the membranes and cerebrospinal fluid that surround and protect the brain and spinal cord.
An imbalance or restriction in this vital system can potentially cause any number of sensory, motor or neurological disabilities, including chronic pain, eye difficulties, scoliosis, motor-coordination impairments, learning disabilities and other health challenges.
If you’ve ever had a chiropractic adjustment or a massage, they’re not anything like craniosacral therapy, which uses a very gentle, delicate approach. Practitioners like Smith guide their hands through various protocols ensuring each key area of the craniosacral system is flowing smoothly, holding their hands in place until tension is relieved and flow is restored.
The most sensory segment of the experience is at the head, and it is the most relaxing part of the session.
A session can last anywhere from 15 minutes to more than an hour, depending on the needs of the person’s central nervous system, said Smith, who earned her certification from The Upledger Institute, named for its founder, osteopathic physician John E. Upledger. Upledger was among the first to witness the rhythmic movements of the craniosacral system during a spinal surgery, later demonstrating with a team from Michigan State University how light-touch therapy could be used to evaluate and treat malfunctions involving the brain and spinal cord.
Maintaining a healthy circulation of craniosacral fluid ensures an environment in which “your brain and nervous system develop, live and function,” Smith said.
As a one-time or ongoing preventive health therapy, craniosacral is another way of tapping into the body’s ability to heal itself.
“There are alternative therapies and alternative health care therapies out there,” said Smith. “The combination is what’s needed. When you do a massage, you’re doing muscle work. When you’re doing lymph drainage therapy, that system has a rhythm. Reflexology. Every therapy has its overall body benefit, and they have to work together to make the body maintain beautiful health.”
The skeptics
As is the case with some alternative health therapies, there are critics of the craniosacral claims. Among the main arguments is a lack of existence of “cranial bone movement,” a key to the efforts of practitioners who work on the skull and head as part of the overall therapy.
Critics cite scientific research that cranial bones fuse during adolescence, making movement impossible. Further skepticism is leveled at a reported lack of evidence for “cranial rhythm.” And while evidence exists of the cerebrospinal fluid pulsation, one study states it is caused by the functioning of the cardiovascular system and not by the workings of the craniosacral system.
Still others say the potential for craniosacral therapy in treating disease and injury could prove beneficial if more studies were conducted linking it to treatment of illness and disability.
Who can benefit from craniosacral therapy?
Craniosacral therapy practitioners say it can be used to strengthen the body’s ability to take better care of itself, helping alleviate a range of illness, pain and dysfunction including:
Migraines and headaches
Chronic neck and back pain
Motor-coordination impairments
Stress and tension-related problems
Infantile disorders (with specific certification of the practitioner)
Traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries
Chronic fatigue
Scoliosis
Central Nervous System disorders
Emotional difficulties
TMJ (jaw disorder, temporomandibular joint syndrome)
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Orthopedic problems
Source: Materials provided by Mary Lou Smith, Charlevoix