My First Craniosacral Therapy Session

At my last visit my PT suggested I have a session with her partner so I can try a different technique than Rolfing.  Her partner's PT speciality is Craniosacral Therapy.  Since this was not the first time Craniosacral was suggested to me, and the first time the therapist was conveniently located, I decided to give it a try.

We started our one hour session with some core strengthening exercises to help stretch my spinal curves and improve my balance.  This did not go well.  As with many stretches, I was not feeling any tension or pull in my muscles when we worked with my scoliosis curves.  When we switched to some deep core strengthening the left side of my back panicked and started spasaming.  Of course, this isn't an area that should react in such a way when working with the pelvic muscles, but I've learned to expect the unexpected when it comes to my body and what should be "normal."

Since my body was now in too much discomfort to continue (it wasn't really painful, but too distracting for me to isolate specific muscle groups) we switched to Craniosacral.

Whereas Rolfing involves force and strong repositioning of the body, Craniosacral involves light touch.  It reminded me of meditation sessions I had with a yogi many years ago; as I would meditate she would work with my chakra through gentle pressure at various points on my body.  Today, I easily slipped into a meditative state while my therapist worked with points along my spine from my sacrum to my skull.  While she worked I felt stress, tension and, yes, even the muscle spasms melt away.  I was left with a deep feeling of peace, and much of the daily pain I live with had minimized further into the background than I typically keep it through sheer determination.

Craniosacral Therapy does not always work immediately, so immediate relief today was a benefit to my body not always reacting "normally."  I will likely see her twice more this year to see if I will experience more or prolonged improvement.

I did find it a nice change, however, to leave a physical therapy session feeling this good and not sporting a few new bruises.

Rolfing Update

I started a form of physical therapy called Rolfing a little more than a year ago.  This is a good point at which to reflect on my progress.

My appointments are not always regularly scheduled: sometimes 2 weeks apart, others 3 or 4 weeks, and in July more than 5 weeks.  What I noticed this past July stretch (almost 8 weeks) is that my body lost much of its progress but went right back into place during the rolfing session.  Today, 5 days after that session, I am still standing tall, my head hitting the highest mark on my height chart.

Yes, I keep a height chart.  I started it a few months before my first rolfing session, even before I heard about rolfing, and my highest mark is more than 3 inches above my lowest.

The sore muscles and bruising after intense deep-muscle sessions are worth it.  I have more low pain days and feel taller.  This summer I seem to have more energy, though not as much as I remember from a decade ago.  It is progress, part of a journey, and I am not yet where I want to be.  It is also a part that I will continue through the next year.

Rolfing Session 6 and Autumn Pain

As happens each fall, my body is reacting to the colder weather by stiffening and aching.  However, after a few months of rolfing sessions and my new, higher lift for my shoe I am noticing the pain is different.

Typically I would experience pain in my upper right back and neck.  There is a small amount of stiffness there, but no more than all summer.  Though that area has not become painful the lower left area of  my back has.  This is not an area where I typically have much pain, ever, so it has me concerned.  After my pre-session evaluation today I was reassured because, whereas the pain is unusual and uncomfortable, there is noticeable lengthening in my lower spine! 

My other area of pain at this time is still minimal compared to what it was last winter, but any hip bursitis is too much for me.  Last winter was the first time I experienced it, and I was hoping it was gone for good with all the therapy I am doing.  We worked with the hips today and, hopefully, I can lie on that side tonight without discomfort.

Today we did nothing "new."  Our focus was on correcting areas to minimize pain and on more with the center line.  Though I have not noticeably taller after sessions I am also no longer shrinking between them. 

I have 3 weeks to the next session.  Cold, wet fall weather is settling into the region and threatening to settle into my soft tissue, too.  My goal during this time is to stretch at least a little each night and try to minimize the fear of the pain.

Pain Management Program

This spring, at my specialist's recommendation, I enrolled in a pain management program through my local hospital's wellness center. My requirements were that it would be non-invasive and limited pharmaceuticals - I admit I was very surprised to find that at a traditional hospital!

The program was supposed to start with an informational meeting, but due to time constraints and because I want to keep working and not threaten my employment status with frequent absenteeism I started with an orthopedic evaluation and physical therapy. The evaluation found bursitis in one hip which was causing a new onset of pain and weakness and, when my shoulder was moved the way he wanted, limited mobility in my previously "worked on" shoulder. Of course, if allowed to move the shoulder "my" way it has hypermobility. PT has focused on these two and not, as I wanted, all-over body strengthening to help manage the constant discomfort.

I still haven't had the informational meeting with the head of the program, but found out last week that was due to a hiking disaster she experienced and the program is slowly changing hands. Thus, I am fighting for my needs with the feeling of little support other than my family.

I pushed and was sent to a second orthopedist who is re-evaluating my short leg and scoliosis. If these have changed at all (which is likely, it has been about a decade since last evaluated but at that point both had been stable for about 15 years) then they could be the cause of the bursitis, limited shoulder mobility, and possibly other areas of pain. Won't know more about this until early September.

My goal with all of this is to reduce the amount of daily pain and numerous subluxations/dislocations I experience. I want to be able to keep on top of it and not be constantly surprised by new problems. I love my career, but know EDS is slowly making it difficult to work everyday and be effective at what I do. My hope was for the pain management program to help me organize it all and figure out who and what would help the best, but so far it is, yet again, me figuring it all out with almost no knowledgeable help from the medical community. This is extremely frustrating and I sometimes want to just give up, but I am still too stuburn to admit I am disabled.