CranioSacral and Fibromyalgia

Dealing with Fibromyalgia Using CranioSacral Therapy

Does each day feel like a struggle? Do you feel like you have to drag yourself through each day? Are you simply going through the motions? Are you in so much pain that it is affecting your happiness? How would you feel if there was something that could help ease that pain? What if there was something that could work on the cause of your pain instead of just the symptoms and lift your spirits at the same time?  

As a person who has been a trained CranioSacral Therapist since 2003, I can honestly tell you that I have seen a great deal of people become pain free or reduce their pain to a much more manageable point by receiving CranioSacral Therapy (CST) treatments. Trained through the Upledger Institute, I have gone through years of training and have worked with and helped many clients with various levels of pain. Dr John E Upledger is the founder and developer of CranioSacral Therapy who served as a biomechanics professor at MSU in the late 1970’s and now is the owner and director of the Upledger Clinic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

People who are diagnosed with fibromyalgia are often depressed, in constant pain, and suffer with fatigue. They may also be dealing with many other varied symptoms. It is easy to become depressed or have low energy when we deal with pain all of the time. All of our energy goes towards figuring out how to make it through the daily tasks that are absolutely necessary. When do we have time to take a minute for ourselves or actually do something we enjoy? It seems everything has become work.  

CranioSacral Therapy can help in so many ways. According to Upledger.com, “CranioSacral Therapy (CST) is a gentle, hands-on approach that releases tensions deep in the body to relieve pain and dysfunction and improve whole-body health and performance.” By releasing the restrictions/tensions, the cerebrospinal fluid in our bodies can flow easier and reach more areas which helps everything function better. Cerebrospinal fluid feeds, protects, and has a considerably positive effect on your brain and spinal cord (also known as your central nervous system).

CranioSacral Therapy works directly with the fascia throughout your body. Fascia is the connective tissue that surrounds and connects body structures. When fascia becomes restricted, people experience pain, reduced range of motion, etc. Through the gentle holding or slow movements performed during CranioSacral Therapy, these restrictions can release and people sometimes feel energy start to move through the area where they hadn’t before. People also feel a softening of the area and less of a stuck painful feeling. It is wonderful to be able to help people in this way and to see the softening not just in their bodies but to hear it their voices and also see the relief on their faces.

During CranioSacral Therapy, clients lie fully clothed on a massage table. I start each session by holding your feet and sensing where the greatest restrictions are in the body. I then move to different areas on the body and hold those areas waiting for the restrictions to release. I may also do unwinding work which means I will gently lift an arm or a leg and allow the fascia to unwind as the limb slowly lies back on the table while being fully supported.

People who have dealt with chronic pain for any period of time and have become depressed, as is the case with many who suffer from fibromyalgia, can be greatly helped through the part of CranioSacral Therapy called SomatoEmotional Release (SER). We hold emotions in our bodies whether we are aware of it or not. When those emotions don’t have a proper way to release they become stuck. Often times creating pain that isn’t easily dealt with. Through CranioSacral Therapy and SomatoEmotional Release, a therapist like myself, is trained in finding these areas of stuck emotions and using techniques and oftentimes a dialogue between the therapist and the client to help release these stuck emotions that are causing the pain. People that have experienced emotional releases like this often leave feeling lighter and with much clearer thinking. When people have dealt with chronic pain for any length of time feelings of self doubt or feelings of never being able to function the way they think they should be able to fill their bodies and minds. Depression to any degree is not healthy and can put many unneeded burdens in your life. SomatoEmotional Release is a wonderful way to get to the reasons why you’re feeling that way and can help you see that, by releasing those unneeded burdens and feelings, your life can be so much more meaningful and you can truly live the way you want and are meant to.

Chronic pain and the resulting depression is something that no one should have to live with. I hope through this article that you have gotten some ideas of ways that you can receive gentle/noninvasive help and start living life in more of the ways that you want to. I hope I have helped you learn more about CranioSacral Therapy and SomatoEmotional Release. If you have any questions or would like to set up an appointment for a treatment, please feel free to contact me at your convenience.

Yours in Good Health,

Stephanie Stanton

828.450.5050