Surprising Treatment For Shoulder And Back Pain
When reaching into the cupboard and pain strikes in the shoulder, it is reasonable to think the origin of your pain is located somewhere in the shoulder. Or, after sitting for 30 minutes and your back hurts, it is sensible to believe the cause of such pain is a problem in the back. But, when you spend a lot time taking care of your shoulder and back yet make little progress in feeling better, it may be time to think outside the box and consider your whole body.
This is exactly where CranioSacral Therapy enters. This gentle, non-invasive healing modality can shed light on the true source of your pain, instead of only treating symptoms.
Meet my client, Audrey. She arrived in my office for her first treatment having had longstanding shoulder pain. She felt it every time she lifted her arm past 90 degrees. She knew the starting point of this pain came from overusing it in her job, which she had since left. She sought out and received some good treatment to help alleviate the symptoms, however, her shoulder pain continued and she still had limited mobility in her arm and shoulder.
When I was taking her medical history, she also told me she had three bikini line incisions from different surgical procedures. As I placed my hands on her body to evaluate her CranioSacral Rhythm, I felt the most restriction across her lower abdomen. We began the session there. I placed one hand under her sacrum and the other hand over her lower abdomen.
Once my hands were in place, Audrey told me she was feeling heat in the area. This is a clear sign of release, and was coming from where her bikini line scars were. Audrey reported that she felt tingling down her legs and into her feet, and began feeling deeply relaxed.
Under my hands, I felt a softening of the tissue, in contrast to the strong lines of tension I was feeling before. With one hand still on her abdomen, I placed my other hand over her shoulder. Her abdomen let go a little more and softened immediately,and then her shoulder followed the same pattern and softened. Next, I positioned both hands over her shoulder. Within moments her shoulder relaxed even further and was able to fully rest onto the treatment table.
When Audrey stood up at the end of the session, she had full, pain-free range of motion. Her case is an excellent example of how a place in the body far away from the pain is contributing to the problem.
Sometimes clients gain such good body awareness that they make the connections themselves. Ann was referred to me after a knee replacement surgery. She was making a slow recovery and experiencing a good deal of left-sided back pain, which was exacerbated by the surgery.
When Ann came in for her third treatment, she had just completed reading my book and thought she could benefit from some mouth work. She had experienced intense jaw pain in years past, and wondered if it was related the other areas of pain in her body.
After assessing her mouth more closely, she was absolutely correct! To begin, I did some CranioSacral Therapy techniques on the structures inside of her mouth. While I was working in her mouth, Ann could feel positive changes in the left side of her lower back. She was astounded that this mouth work could have such a profound effect. The next time she returned to my office, her back had given her very few problems. She subsequently cancelled her appointment to see a surgeon about it!
Article written by Kate Mackinnon and reposted from HealYourLife.com