The National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine just came out with documented evidence Jan of 2013 stating that Craniosacral Therapy is effective for preventing migraine headaches. Of course, this comes as no surprise to me. In fact, it was my own experience as a migraine suffer that lead me to become a Craniosacral Therapist.
As a child, I suffered from frequent debilitating migraines. I remember them very well because the only thing I could do was lay in a dark room with a cold cloth over my eyes. They were dizzying and made me very nauseous. My mother tried everything she could for me. I had gotten them for as long as I could remember. When I was about 11yrs my mother began attending CranioSacral workshops with John Upledger, DO. She then began to practice Craniosacral Therapy on me during my migraine episodes and it soon became the only thing that gave me relief. By the time I was 16 years old I was living migraine free and have been for nearly 20 years! I always knew that whatever she was doing with my head had worked to permanently correct the problem. However, it wasn’t until I graduated from massage school and attended my first Craniosacral training that I truly understood what my mother was doing for me and it was through this experience of knowing firsthand how Craniosacral Therapy can heal chronic pain patterns that lead me into this work.
Migraines can be caused by many factors: Environment (weather changes, exposure to bright light, high altitude, smoke, certain odors, and prolonged loud noise), diet (chocolate, garlic, pickled products, processed meats and fish, aged cheese, alcohol—especially wine, or caffeine withdrawal), other factors (exertion, too much sleep, fatigue or exhaustion, irregular motion such as amusement rides or boats, stress, or hormonal changes).
Craniosacral Therapy involves light touch and manipulation of the skull and spine to release restrictions in muscle, fascia and nerve tissue. There is very slight joint like movement between the articulation of the cranial bones. This is to make room for the ground swelling and pumping action of the cerebral spinal fluid. Sometimes the cranial bones can become compressed which can create congestion in the blood and cerebral fluid flow, and in turn can back up the venous sinus system. The venous sinuses are a vein like system just under the skull that filters out used blood, cerebral spinal fluid and various chemicals used by the brain.
The cranial bones themselves can also become ‘out of alignment’ in a way also contributing to the headaches by putting un-necessary pressure on the cranial nerves. These compressions in the craniosacral system can also affect the function of the autonomic nervous system creating a lot of stress for the sufferer (both physically but also mentally and emotionally). Craniosacral Therapy can help all of these problems associated with re-occurring migraine headaches.
The key to successful Craniosacral for migraines treatment is consistency. Often times, people come in for help with their migraines experience a few sessions, see improvement right away, then disappear for a time until they experience their first major migraine re-coil a month or two later. It is recommended to begin Craniosacral treatment once a week for at least three months even when you stop experiencing the migraines. Once they are consistently under control then you can drop to sessions every two weeks for about another three months, to see if they are still manageable with sessions further apart. Sometimes you have to negotiate going back and forth between once or every two weeks until you find the perfect medium. Eventually, switching to maintenance sessions every 3 weeks or so until you and the practitioner feel the migraines have resolved.
The amazing gift Craniosacral can provide to anyone suffering from chronic pain is that unlike many other alternative healing modalities, when something shifts in Craniosacral Therapy it tends to stay that way!