Osteopathy treats not only the bones, but the whole body. Craniosacral Osteopathy What is Craniosacral Rhythm

Craniosacral osteopathy effectively treats headaches.

Such a treatment technique as cranial therapy belongs to the field of osteopathy. It consists in the alignment of the cranial bones, spine and sacral region, so that they restore their normal functioning.

Why influence is carried out on these three departments? Because they have a relationship with each other based on the production of cerebrospinal fluid. This fluid, called cerebrospinal fluid, is distributed in all three sections, starting from the skull and ending with the sacral region.

This process of washing the cranial region, spine and sacrum with liquid is called craniosacral. If any department ceases to function normally, then the work of the other two is disrupted. And this negatively affects the state of the whole organism.

So, a disease in one department can provoke painful sensations in a completely opposite one. For example, an injury to the sacrum can cause pain in the neck and back, and a cranial injury affects the spine.

Craniosacral osteopathy is far from being an ordinary head massage. Here a deeper effect is achieved. The specialist not only relaxes the muscles, but can also adjust the proper functioning of the cranial, vertebral and sacral zones. A professional osteopath is able to qualitatively listen to the rhythm of the movement of the cerebrospinal fluid and find out exactly where a certain violation occurred, where there is a clamp or block that interferes with the operation of the entire system.

As a result of such a procedure, not only the correct work of these three departments is built, but the side disorders that the patient complains about disappear.

Benefits of Cranial Therapy

With the help of such treatment, it is possible to eliminate not only the manifestations of pain, but also the initial causes of a certain disease. A huge plus of this method is also that it does not involve the use of medications. In addition, it is a fast-acting method, the positive effect of which appears approximately after the fourth procedure.

Indications for use

The diseases that cranial osteopathy can cure are quite numerous. This:

• Curvature of the spinal column, including;
• Pain in the back, including in the cervical region;
• Joint diseases;
• hyperactivity;
• Hypertension and hypotension;
• Headaches, including migraines;
• Chronic fatigue of the body;

Services of the medical center "Rehabilitation Medicine"

A session of craniosacral osteopathy at the VostMed clinic.

The specialists of the VostMed clinic perform a session of craniosacral therapy gently and painlessly.

From the outside, it may seem that nothing is happening, the doctor practically does not move, but the main work is going on. listening craniosacral rhythm, the doctor determines with what intensity and at what angle to act on the affected area. The patient experiences light pressure, warmth, relaxation. Unpleasant sensations that could be at the beginning due to spasms and pinching go away, the doctor's actions calm the patient, he may even fall asleep.

The procedure lasts from about forty minutes to an hour (depending on the complexity of the problem). At the first session, the doctor determines with the help of his hands in which particular department the source of the disease is located, after which the treatment begins. To carry out a complete and effective treatment, it is necessary to undergo at least ten courses of cranial therapy, which are prescribed in a week.

If you decide on such a procedure as craniosacral osteopathy, the prices in Moscow at the Vostmed clinic will certainly please you. The cost of this course will cost you less than traditional treatment, including diagnostics, application various kinds treatment, the purchase of expensive antibiotics, and so on.

Most of us simply don't know what CranioSacral Therapy is. But today, this type of treatment is becoming more and more popular among the masses due to its non-surgical technique and the lack of consumption of pharmacological drugs.

Craniosacral Therapy and Osteopathy

What is craniosacral therapy

Craniosacral Therapy(CST) is a method of healing alternative medicine, which was discovered by the American osteopath Sutherland in the early 20th century. At one time, Sutherland was a student of Andrew Still, the founder of osteopathic medicine. Later, Sutherland published a collection of scientific papers called "The Cranial Vessel", where, based on the research, he presented reliable facts about the work of the craniosacral rhythm in the human body.

The main postulate of craniosacral therapy is the assertion that everything in the human body is in motion, even taking into account bone tissues. For example, the cranial bones, which were previously considered immobile, have tensile fibers that allow the skull to “breathe” in a certain rhythm (6-12 cycles per minute). Despite the fact that it is not visually noticeable, our body lives its own special rhythmic cycle.

Sutherland worked long and hard, and his research brought stunning results. It turns out that the human skull does expand and contract rhythmically.

Today, Sutherland is known for introducing the concept of rhythm and transferring the principles of classical osteopathy to the human skull and its sutures. The bones of the skull open and close, that is, speaking plain language they breathe thanks to the production and distribution of cerebrospinal fluid, which “washes” the brain and spinal cord from the human skull to the sacrum. This liquid is called liquor.

Research in the field of craniosacral osteopathy was continued by Sutherland's student, the American physician John Upledger. He developed the theory of cyclic changes in the pressure of the cerebrospinal fluid, thereby pointing out the importance of the connection between the connective tissue and the craniosacral rhythm.

Today, Upledger's theory is considered the most convincing and reasoned. With the hands of an experienced osteopath, you can feel the breath of the body according to the beat of the rhythm.

How CranioSacral Therapy Works

Our spine, skull bones, sacrum, cerebrospinal fluid and the membranes of the spinal cord and brain are part of the craniosacral system in the body, and have a close relationship with each other. This is imperceptible visually, but in fact, rhythmic fluctuations constantly occur in this system, especially evident in the contractions of the bones of the skull and sacrum. If something in this single system is not in order, it has a negative effect on the entire body. For example, coccyx injury, oddly enough, can cause migraines, and traumatic brain injury can lead to spinal disc herniation and scoliosis. If the position of the sacrum is not correct, then the dura mater can be twisted up to the head, which causes fatigue and headaches.

Many therapists and osteopaths compare human body with a grand piano that needs to be tuned from time to time due to misuse so that it plays beautifully.

What does craniosacral therapy treat?

The impact of craniosacral therapy is very wide. It improves the circulation of cerebral vessels, relieves headaches, restores the mobility of the pelvic bones, sacrum and joints of the spine, reduces the tension of the brain membranes, and normalizes work. nervous system.

Craniosacral therapy effectively helps in the fight against depression, insomnia, chronic fatigue, anxiety, nervous system disorders. In addition, craniosacral therapy relieves pain in the neck and back, treats immune and neurovascular disorders, and helps after injuries and stress. Craniosacral therapy is also very effective in vegetative-vascular dystonia, bronchial, minimal cerebral dysfunction, headache, cerebrovascular and epileptic syndromes.

In children, craniosacral therapy has been successfully used for delayed speech and psychomotor development.

Another useful feature of craniosacral therapy is that it is used both as a treatment and in prevention. Prevention rebuilds the nervous system, which, when properly functioning, is the body's defense mechanism in the fight against stress and disease.

Contraindications to craniosacral therapy are oncology, aneurysm and acute thrombosis, as well as infectious processes in the human body.

Soft treatment technique

At first sight craniosacral therapy resembles very soft and light. You will not feel any rough interventions or pain. This is not manual therapy. The movements of the therapist's hands are almost imperceptible, because they correspond to the desired rhythm of the minimum vibrations of the body (2-4mm). The specialist feels craniosacral rhythm of a person, and with his own hands affects the internal tissues.

The doctor must listen to the body of his patient in order to identify problems in the body. Posture, gestures and movements of the human body testify to these problems.

A session of craniosacral therapy lasts from 30 minutes to 1 hour.

The effectiveness of craniosacral therapy is confirmed by both science and practice. Clinics Britain and America successfully use craniosacral therapy for the treatment and prevention of various diseases, and the technique itself is a branch of science -.

What is osteopathy

Osteopathy came to the CIS about 20 years ago, but every year it is gaining more and more popularity. Friends and acquaintances treat themselves and their children with osteopaths, while not understanding at all how it works.

People who know the word firsthand often ask: “What is osteopathy?” and "How does it work?".

Today in Europe, osteopathy stands apart from classical medicine. There is osteopathic medicine, there is classical medicine, and they do not intersect. In Ukraine, the situation is approximately the same, but since it is not easy to get a fundamental education in osteopathy in our country, we prefer classical doctors who know osteopathic medicine. Despite the fact that the philosophy and approach to treatment do not coincide, knowledge of anatomy and pathologies comes first for mastering osteopathic art, and such serious knowledge can only be obtained at a medical university. Yes, of course there are professionals who take any issue seriously. By force of will, they master this science on their own, but this is rather an exception that confirms the rule. In Europe, these two areas of medicine go their separate ways, and you need to understand that osteopathic doctors there have a very high level of knowledge. They perfectly know the anatomy and specifics of pathologies.

Osteopath who collects anamnesis can look at pictures, conclusions of other doctors, but first of all he relies on his palpation skills and knowledge, both in diagnosis and in treatment. This is the main mechanism of the osteopathic approach.

Science itself rests on three pillars. The first "whale" of osteopathy is anatomy, and no mysticism. Specialists in this field need to know anatomy at the level of a surgeon in order to understand what dysfunctions they feel under their hands, what should be the norm and how pathology feels. The second required skill is hands-on experience. palpation. It takes a lot of practice to understand how to diagnose this or that dysfunction. The third whale manipulation. This is exactly what can help the patient, not always painlessly, but in the most effective way, with the help of a specialist.

What does osteopathy treat?

What does osteopathy treat? This is how people who are accustomed to classical medicine formulate questions, in which there is a specialist for each organ or pathology. In methodology, it is easy to answer the question “What does a vertebrologist or a mammologist treat?” Osteopathic medicine has a different philosophy. Here a person is considered as a whole, where it is impossible to influence one without affecting the other.

Any organism is capable of self-regulation and self-healing, an osteopath can only help start this process, "show the body the way to health." An important and difficult task of an osteopath is to find the root cause of the disease. And this is exactly what classical medicine lacks. Narrowly focused specialists, not seeing a person in integrity, send him from one specialist to another.

However, each patient needs his own doctor. And if an osteopath is approached with an oncological disease, a fracture, or acute inflammation requiring prompt surgical intervention, he is obliged, having assessed the situation, to redirect the patient to another doctor. Often osteopathy is used in combination with official medicine.

Many patients are interested in how osteopathy “works”, how to distinguish a good specialist from a bad one, and what exactly an osteopath does during a session. There are several main areas in osteopathy. These are structural osteopathy, cranial or craniosacral osteopathy and visceral osteopathy. Still, as additional, there are cosmetic and uro-vaginal manipulations.

Structural osteopathy- this is work with the “body structure”, bones, muscles and ligaments according to the principle: “Structure controls function”. The specialist's manipulations are visible and usually palpable. As an example, the most obvious is the reduction of the vertebrae, when a “crunch” is often heard - they say: “Oh! The bell is in place." Some of these techniques are a bit like gentle manual therapy.

- this is work with internal organs, and not only the organs of the abdominal cavity, but also, for example, the heart.

Cranial osteopathy This is the most difficult science to understand. Here, work takes place with the human craniosacral system, which consists of the dura mater surrounding the brain and spinal cord. Inside the craniosacral system, cerebrospinal fluid is produced, the movement of which creates cranial rhythm person. This rhythm has been identified by medical scientists involved in the study of this topic. The cranial system can be influenced by soft, barely noticeable manipulations of a specialist on the bones of the skull, which in osteopathic medicine are not considered fused - they retain movement due to mobile fibers. By influencing this system, it is possible to treat not only the central nervous system, but also heal the entire body as a whole.

Fascial techniques. - these are connective tissue membranes that connect muscles, bones, internal organs and all other components of the body. Fascial techniques balance the whole body, normalize blood flow and, in general, fluid processes in the body. They are able to alleviate the patient's condition in almost any case.

Fluid Techniques. They work with body fluids and their circulation, blood flow, circulation of cerebrospinal fluid and lymph flow. Lymphatic drainage techniques are used, for example, by cosmetologists who have learned from osteopaths.

Biodynamic techniques. They are aimed, among other things, at stimulating and increasing the vitality of the body.

Ideally, an osteopath should master various techniques, but in practice, specialists prefer one method or another.

Who is an osteopath

An osteopath is not a magician who can solve all problems related to the body within a few seconds. In order to properly understand the osteopath and his work, we need to look at the so-called "barriers".

Life is motion. Let's imagine life as a river. If barriers appear in its channel, for example, in the form of stones, then whirlpools appear, taking a certain part of the energy. If the barriers in the body are destroyed, the unhindered flow of fluids will be restored.

There should be no barriers in the human body, only this can guarantee the unhindered flow of energy, as well as the unhindered fluctuation of various rhythms. The osteopath is able to feel the barriers, remove them and restore normal tissue mobility. The fluid flows in the blood vessels and lymphatic channels become free again, the nerve pathways and the immune system function in full. The river of life, free from obstacles and barriers, regains its former strength and fully works for human health. The balance is restored, the body's own healing powers come into play. The right chain of dominoes can set off a chain reaction. Importance for this process has an energy input in the right place. The system of dominoes will work without any additional effort, automatic self-regulation will turn on.

The osteopath has a precise knowledge of anatomy, psychology and biochemistry - in short, he is familiar with scientific foundations body functioning. With the help of his trained hands, experienced eye and intuition, he can quickly outline the range of existing problems. Unlike other doctors, he will not directly interfere with the functioning of the body. Imagine the body as a giant gear mechanism. It has gears of any size. They cling to each other and thus interact with each other. Even the smallest wheel matters. If the movement of one of the gears is restricted, the entire mechanism is affected to a greater or lesser extent. The movement of other gears also changes.

Every organ of the body is like a gear wheel. If at least one wheel does not function in the gear mechanism of the body, this may adversely affect the operation of other, more distant, gear wheels. The osteopath finds a gear wheel that is limited in its functioning and restores its mobility, cleaning it from “rust and dust, lubricating it with oil.” Osteopath performs Maintenance organism, like a technician at a service station. But he does not replace damaged parts, but fixes their work, restoring it. If any part is damaged so much that it needs to be replaced, then the intervention of the surgeon is already necessary in this case.

How to choose an osteopath

Since osteopathy came to Ukraine relatively recently, the concept of the word "osteopath" is very vague. There are many schools and courses, and often, after completing a week of study, people try to "work miracles."

In America, where osteopathy originated in 1874, in Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, where it came at the beginning of the 20th century, osteopathic medicine was initially separated from classical medicine. This is a different institution, a different approach to the body and its healing, separate educational and medical institutions. At the same time, osteopathy is officially recognized in many countries, and in some it is included in insurance medicine. In Ukraine, osteopathy is still not recognized.

Patient-Osteopath Relationship

“The aim of the physician should be to find health. Anyone can find sickness.”— Andrew Taylor Still

The relationship of the patient and during treatment develops according to a completely different principle, in contrast to official medicine. We are used to the fact that the doctor, as it were, is above us, gives opinions, prescribes drugs, surgically implants into our body and does something there against our will, and we trust him with all of ourselves without a trace, signing an agreement on anesthesia.

The osteopath adheres to other principles of relationship with the patient. Does not commit violence, is not "on top". This is a man whose hands can help your body if you let him. The subconscious, unlike consciousness, cannot be deceived, namely, it reads the intention from the hands of an osteopath when touched.

During an osteopathic session, your “Inner Doctor” himself manages to identify the problem, to find an emotional block clogged with strict “must not” and “should”, which sometimes sits in our tissues and whines quietly. And when the body cannot cope with the emotional or physical stress in the rhythm of our crazy life, this can result, for example, in a heart attack or stroke.

For an osteopath - whether it is a disease of the heart, kidneys or spine - these are problems of you, as a whole, both of the body and of the individual. After all, your body is your materialized soul with its life history, fears and failures, and not a dry anamnesis - the history of your body's illness.

If a tiny memory card in your phone can carry such a huge amount of information, do you really think that a person in his body, through tissues, muscles, fascia and bones, does not store information about himself from the moment of birth?

The osteopath enters into a “dialogue” with your body, which often needs to be “listened to”, helped to remove blocks, fill exhausted organs with life energy, calm the storm of thoughts and feelings, the chaotic flow in your head.

In osteopathy, it is impossible to approach a person who has come for treatment detachedly, without sympathy, a desire to help. This attitude is combined with fundamental knowledge of human anatomy and physiology. After all, how to enter into a dialogue with someone with whom you do not know? The better we know the other, the more topics we have for conversation.

The body may resist at first, not allowing you to relax, it will try to control the situation, it will not put its hands in for communication and healing inside, deeper than the skin. However, if the osteopathic doctor has a good experience, by the end of the session, almost everyone manages to let go of themselves, relax, immerse themselves in the flow of healing energy. After that, the clamps and blocks in the tissues go away, the body aligns, the consciousness calms down, the vital currents again run through the body without hindrance. You are gradually returning to the state that the Universe intended for you.

How often do you go for osteopathy sessions?

One of the basic principles of osteopathy: "The body has self-regulatory and self-healing mechanisms." That is, any person was originally created in such a way that he can cure himself. But as a result of the weakening of the body, our "Inner Doctor" weakens, and is not able to cope with the problem on its own. The task of the osteopath is to wake up the "Inner Doctor", to push or start the self-healing process in a person. Therefore, leaving the office after the session, know that the treatment is not over, but only begins. Depending on how weakened your body is, you need to visit an osteopath so often. One needs a session in a week, and the other in a month. Usually, as the condition improves, follow-up visits are required less frequently.

Why Osteopathy

Today, humanity is ripe for a new understanding of treatment, different than in classical medicine. Every year it becomes more and more obvious that scrupulous splitting into medical specialists in various organs and even parts of these organs loses sight of the person himself and his integrity, because the amount of knowledge is constantly increasing, they are becoming more isolated in various disciplines.

At the same time, a therapist or, as it is now called, a family doctor, studying according to the classical system, cannot grasp the immensity, and inevitably misses certain special areas of knowledge in his training. Trying to overcome this contradiction, people began to look for other ways to solve their problems. New or well-forgotten old knowledge about human nature began to appear, "energy" and "folk" methods of treatment are being revived.

One possible response to the challenge of the times is osteopathy. The osteopath considers the human body a system capable of self-healing, and himself as an assistant in this process. In addition, the osteopath considers a person as a whole. Not only from the point of view of material connections between various organs and systems (which implies extremely serious knowledge of anatomy), but also from the point of view of the integrity of the body, soul and spirit.

Osteopathy is not a fantastic technique, although people do not understand what a doctor is doing when he performs rituals unknown to them, as if listening to the joints and organs. This is a huge experience of work and the development of the sensitivity of the hands to such an extent that minimal, sometimes almost imperceptible movements for the patient, affect his systems and organs. It is not psychic abilities, but practical experience in palpation and manipulation, as well as a mastery of anatomy, give such results. An osteopathic doctor can treat with his hands without surgical and medical effects, helping the patient to recover and solve problems that are often beyond the control of classical medicine.

Osteopathy and its difference from classical medicine

Let's summarize. So, osteopathy is distinguished, first of all, by a systematic approach to the human body, its perception as a whole. The cause of the patient's health disorder in the vast majority of cases is located far from the source of complaints. For example, the cause of increased fatigue, low vitality is often venous congestion in the abdominal cavity, due to which a large volume of blood is practically turned off from circulation, which leads to depletion of the blood supply to the whole body, including the brain. Also, the cause of such conditions is a violation of the mobility of the bones of the cranium, which affects the cerebral blood flow and circulation of the cerebrospinal fluid, and the work of the sacrum is also disrupted.

Several osteopathic procedures give the patient a completely different quality of life and a much higher level of health and performance. The cause of headaches, which the patient despaired of coping with after many years of visiting doctors and taking kilograms of medicines, may be disorders in the cervical spine that are invisible on the x-ray, but obvious to the osteopath, which cannot be eliminated otherwise than osteopathically.

Basic osteopathic postulates

The body as a unity

An organism is a huge number of interconnections between structures and its components. Some of which are anatomically determined, for example, as a connection between the skull and the sacrum, connected by a dura mater (which is why, for example, chronic injuries of the coccyx and sacrum can cause headaches), and some, the so-called functional relationships, are formed in the process individual development organism. So, for example, during the formation of the skill of lifting and holding the head in an infant, both the upper cervical spine and hip joints when a child lying on his stomach tries to raise and hold his head and legs. Practice shows that parts of the body and its structures, which a person learned to control at the same age, maintain a strong relationship for life.

The entire human body, like a cobweb, is entangled with fascia. These are the membranes of the internal organs, the dura mater, the membranes of the nerves and muscles. Tension that has arisen in any part of the body will inevitably be transmitted through the fascia to the whole body, as a result of which problems and complaints can arise in structures arbitrarily far from the location of the original problem. This gives us the key to deciphering the following “golden rule” of osteopathy:

The cause of the malaise is almost always removed from the place of manifestation of complaints.

So, for example, tension in the ligaments of the pericardium (pericardial sac) can cause changes in the mobility of the sternum, cervical and thoracic spine, to which these ligaments are attached, and, consequently, discomfort and pain in these places. Until the tension of the ligaments is eliminated in one way or another, there remains the possibility of a recurrence of the patient's complaints, even if the symptoms themselves can be removed with the help of any methods (physiotherapy, massage, etc.).

At the heart of any disease is a structural component

Changes in health and well-being are due to a violation of the mobility of body parts, as well as their relative position. Also, the mental and spiritual health of a person to a large extent depends on his bodily health. For example, patients with neuroses can be helped by putting the bones of the skull in order. If the blood circulation of the brain is disturbed due to mechanical disorders in the cervical spine, then the only reasonable way to restore blood flow is to remove the mechanical obstacles.

Movement is life

The quality of movement determines the quality of life. A change in movement, a distortion of the movement of any structure of the body means a disease or a functional shift, a stop in movement is death. Movements are big and small. Large (macromobility) - movements in the joints, mobility of internal organs in the ligaments, respiratory movements of the diaphragm, ribs, chest, arbitrary movements of the body in space. Small movements (micro-movement) are the movements of every structure of the body, every cell, internal organs, hemispheres of the brain, meninges, and it is this mobility that determines the metabolic processes in tissues and their viability.

Osteopath is a doctor in a mechanic's apron

Osteopathic diagnostics is the diagnosis of the “hyperfine mechanics of the human body”, and osteopathic treatment is the restoration of the norm of this mechanics.

The word cranio-sacral consists of two words: "cranium"- skull and "sacrum" - sacrum. In this way, The cranio-sacral system is a functional physiological system that exists in the human body.

It includes:

• brain and spinal cord,
• meninges,
• walls of the cerebral ventricles,
• skull bones,
• the joints and sutures connecting them (as it turned out, are normally slightly mobile),
• the entire spine
• including sacrum,
• and the entire system of cerebral and spinal circulation.

Although it was known from ancient times, nevertheless, as a method they began to be used at the beginning of the 20th century, thanks to an American doctor William Sutherland.

Previously, the skull was considered a monolithic whole, and therefore it was believed that its damage could lead to injuries and concussions. However, research by William Sutherland revealed rhythmic pulsations in the human body in addition to cardiac and respiratory ones. It turned out that the bones of the skull are interconnected by sutures, between which there is a tissue resembling articular in its structure. The structure of the suture itself is very complex, which makes it possible for it to maintain the mobility of the bones of the skull relative to each other.

This meant that during injuries, displacement of the bones of the skull could occur, which leads to a number of complications. This is especially pronounced in children, with birth injuries.

Trauma leads to disruption of the cranio-sacral rhythm, which in turn causes:

• delayed mental and physical development,
• strabismus,
• salivation,
• hyperexcitability,
• impaired concentration,
• memory impairment.

Many children are diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

Injuries received in adulthood can give headaches, migraines, dizziness, visual impairment, diseases of the nervous system, neuritis, mental disorders.

This type of therapy allows you to cope with all of the above problems. quickly and painlessly. It consists in fine manual correction of displacements, deformities and other changes in bone and related connective tissue structures, especially the head, with the restoration of the cranio-sacral rhythm.

The technique itself is simple, but requires a good knowledge of anatomy and physiology, practical skills, and tactile-palpatory abilities from the doctor. A positive result can be observed after 3-5, and sometimes even after the first session.

Cranio-sacral therapy is indispensable in the treatment of diseases such as:

• neurological diseases,
• psychosomatic disorders,
• Diseases of the musculoskeletal system,
• Painful muscle syndromes
• Functional disorders of the gastrointestinal tract.
• Restoration of vascular tone of the brain and spinal cord,
• Improving the function and activity of internal organs,
• Restoration of metabolic processes in the body,
• Elimination of general tension (relaxation effect),
• Elimination of headache, vascular disorders, brain function,
• hypertension, menopause,
• Sleep disorders, endocrine disorders,
• psychoemotional disorders,
• Osteochondrosis.

In this way, cranio-sacral therapy is of great medical and social importance. Being a field of osteopathy, it can be considered not only a science, but also a part of philosophy, the art of health management, where diagnosis and treatment are carried out by the hands of a doctor. After all, it is often the doctor's hands that are able to find what even medical devices do not catch.