Back pain can be one of the most chronic and debilitating forms of ill health a person can experience. When someone is experiencing back problems it tends to make life a challenge, and nothing else seems to go right. Whether it is disk problems, sciatica, scoliosis, or muscle spasms, the pain can be so distracting that your whole day is formed around trying to get around the annoyance and discomfort. Does this ring a bell with you, or with someone you know? Well, the good news is that CranioSacral Therapy has helped countless people be relieved of their suffering, and regain their joy and zeal for life.

Back pain can stem from several causes. One such cause is called the “layering effect.” During a person’s lifetime many small traumas can occur to the body, and they are continually encapsulated and absorbed into the muscles and soft tissues. The body does this so that the whole body is not incapacitated and you can get up in the morning and get to work! But the body can only take so much before it begins to complain in a big way. So, maybe you are bending down to pick up a newspaper and your back seizes up. Well, that can be because it’s your body’s way of saying it is the last straw to all of the abuse it has taken over the years.

Another cause for back pain can be a sudden, large trauma, such as a car accident or major surgery. Someone once said that a car accident is surprise trauma to the body, and surgery is organized trauma to the body. Either way, the body reacts in the same manner. Again, it will seize up and encapsulate the affected area, and try its best to function through the pain. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. When it doesn’t, that is where CranioSacral Therapy can help.

CranioSacral Therapy is a light touch healing modality, in which the client is clothed on the treatment table. How can light touch be so effective? The therapist has been extensively trained to listen to your body and pinpoint the root cause of your discomfort. This is done by reading the flow of your cerebrospinal fluid – the fluid surrounding your spinal chord that runs up and down your body from your sacrum (lower back) to your brain. Your body flexes and extends to this rhythm, and where there is an obstruction in the rhythm, the therapist knows that area needs treatment. In CranioSacral Therapy it all about soft tissue release, so that the affected area can relax and realign. A really good CS therapist can find the exact locations that are causing the pain, and treat accordingly. As the tissues relax, the tightness, inflammation, and soreness start to subside. The therapist also treats other areas of the body that have compensated for the pain, so that all of your body parts can once again be realigned and work as a whole. This is called “integrated therapy”. CranioSacral Therapy has been around in the health field for about 35 years. It was developed by Dr. John Upledger, who established the Upledger Institute for CranioSacral Therapy’s continuing development and research. There are thousands of CST practitioners around the world, many of them incorporating CS skills within their professions. Others treat clients solely by this wonderful healing method. In either case CranioSacral Therapy can help you get “back” into the swing of things ASAP!