MAY 8, 2001 MEETING

TOPIC:  “CRANIOSACRAL THERAPY—CAN IT HELP MY HEADACHES?”

Ms. Shamahl A. Nolan, speaking on the topic of craniosacral therapy, was the guest speaker for the May 2001 meeting of the East Bay Headache Support Group.  Held in the Aspen I/II Room at John Muir Medical Center, there were 14 in attendance.

Shamahl originally was a speech therapist, but then turned to massage therapy in 1994, and in 1996 she began working as a craniosacral therapist.  She began her presentation with the statement, “I’m not here to say it’s the answer for everybody, but it does help some people.”

She gave the group a little background about herself, stating that as a child she had a viral infection of the nervous system, called chorea, for about 1-1/2 years.  Then at the age of eleven she started getting “visual” migraines.  She experienced nausea, and lost her eyesight for a time when she had these migraines.  Then as she started going through menopause, her migraine condition got worse.  Shamahl said she has lost vision up to 20 to 30 minutes at a time.  One day a co-worker found her suffering from one of her migraines, and insisted that she see Nancy Burke in El Cerrito for a session of sacrocranial therapy.  She claims that she has not had a migraine since receiving that treatment, which was five years ago. 

Shamahl explained that craniosacral therapy (CST) is a form of non-traditional medicine founded by Dr. John Upledger in the 1980’s.  Quoting from a handout she passed out to the group, “CST is a light touch generally no heavier than the weight of a nickel which tests for restrictions and monitors the rhythm of the cerebrospinal fluid at key points in the body.  As a skilled practitioner, I work to eliminate the restrictions and help bring the body to optimum health.”   

Picking up a colorful model of  a skull with the bony plates cut away, Shamahl pointed out the sphenoid bone (which she called a butterfly) in the head.  She said there was torsion (or twist) which put pressure on the optic nerve. Shamahl said that she appreciates a light touch.  She likes chiropractic treatments, but likes craniosacral therapy better.  She usually spends a full hour with each client, though some sessions last for ninety minutes.

Giving an overview of the history of craniosacral therapy, Shamahl explained that in 1970 Dr. John Upledger, an osteopathic physician, observed the rhythmic movement of the craniosacral system during a neck surgery.  He became interested in the work of Dr. William Sutherland, a physician in the early 1900’s, who had explored the concept that the bones of the skull were structured to allow for movement.  Dr. Upledger set out to scientifically confirm the existence of cranial bone motion, and his work ultimately resulted in his development of craniosacral therapy.

 There is a pulse within the cerebrospinal fluid which is different from the pulse generated by the heart.  It is 6-12 cycles per minute.  She explained that “craniosacral” means “two ends of the spinal column.” 

Dr. Upledger tried to educate his fellow medical doctors about this therapy he developed, but they were not interested, so he took his find to massage therapists, physical therapists, and occupational therapists, and also to chiropractors and nurses.  In the last 25 years, Dr. Upledger’s staff has trained over 50,000 people around the world in the craniosacral therapy technique.  Shamahl said there are over 30 courses you can take through the Upledger Institute in Florida.  She stressed that one needs training and a license in order to use this technique on clients.

Shamahl then asked for a volunteer from the audience to get up on the table in the front of the room.  Joanne, a long-time member of the group, climbed up on the table (like a massage table) and Shamahl began her demonstration of the technique.  She said that she first checks in with the body and feels for fluid in the body—even from touching the feet.  As she felt the feet, thighs, hips, diaphragm, upper chest, Shamahl determined that her client had low amplitude of fluid around the T3 thoracic region of the spinal cord; and she felt a release—a pulse or heat emanating from tissue.

“Joanne’s right side has more activity,” she said, “and her whole body is shifting from left to right.”  Shamahl added that she felt a lot of heat from her client’s frontal bone.  She put one hand under Joanne’s sacrum and one hand on top of her pelvic area, and explained that this maneuver was “to check in and stabilize.”

Shamahl said she finds that sometimes the source of headache comes from other parts of the body than the cranium.  She talked about a client with a highly toxic liver, where she was able to detoxify the liver and then her client’s headaches improved.

Shamahl explained that during her work with Joanne she is feeling the cerebrospinal fluid in the spinal cord and also some tissue release.  She said that by putting on some tension with her hand, she is palpating tissue and muscle.  Shamahl then made the statement, “The client will usually get relief for a couple of days, but once she gets to the core issue, relief can be permanent.”

As she was palpating various parts of her subject’s body, Shamahl continued to talk about this type of therapy.  She said she was trained as a speech therapist, and worked with special needs kids and adults for 27 years, but then decided to practice craniosacral therapy instead.  Her practice now includes both children and adults.  In fact, her handout mentions that she even is available to perform this therapy on animals.

She mentioned two different aspects of this therapy—there is a structural release and a somatic emotional release.  She added that we have body memories from early childhood.  Some clients experience a somatic emotional release and she dialogs with them during treatment.

Q.  An audience member asked her, “What about repetitive stress? Or carpal tunnel?  Will craniosacral therapy help?

A.  She answered that it won’t do any good if the client continues with an activity that causes repetitive stress.  Shamahl recounted that she worked with an eight-year-old boy who had migraines that began when he was only two or three years old.  The child had tried medications, then chiropractic treatment, and then was brought to her.  He had stress in one of the membranes, which she was able to release.  Now he hasn’t had a migraine in a year and also his night terrors have ceased.  She added that he told her he is sometimes sad now that his headaches are gone, though, because he misses the special time he spent with his mom during those bad times.

Shamahl said there are five grams of pressure and listed six bones in the head:

            1st:            Occiput bone

            2nd:            Frontal bone

            3rd:            Parietal bones—to release from temporal bone

            4th:            Sphenoid bone

            5th:            Temporal bone

            6th:            TMJ joint and mandible

She explained that she isolates bones to determine if there is any restriction between the bones and if any restriction in the membranes.  Any one session with her is an hour, or could be up to 90 minutes.  The first session she works up through the whole body, and at other sessions she may concentrate on only one area.

Q.  Her volunteer, Joanne, asked, “What is the throbbing I experience before a migraine begins?” 

A.  But Shamahl didn’t have an answer for her.  Dr. Stein in the audience then volunteered that the theory behind migraines is that the trigeminal vascular system releases substances, and there is some swelling of blood vessels.

Q.  Joanne then asked, “Do you give exercises a client can do on his/her own?”

A.  Shamahl answered, “No, but your partner can learn to massage your temple.”  She added, “I think we all have the power to heal in our hands.”

According to Shamahl, Dr. Upledger is working with kids to reduce violence by teaching the “v-spread thing,” which appears to have reduced violence by 75%.  She said that the power of touch is tremendous.  Shamahl made the statement, “It doesn’t work with everyone.  It has helped some of my clients, but not all.  There’s a lot we need to learn.”

She offered each of the audience members a special rate of $15 off her normal $100 fee for their first session of craniosacral therapy.  And Shamahl also told Joanne to come in for a free treatment since she volunteered to be worked on in front of the group.

Q.  Someone in the audience asked Shamahl if craniosacral therapy is covered by Medicare.

A.  She replied, “No, but if you get it from a physical therapist or chiropractor, insurance might pay.  But [insurance] won’t pay if you go to a massage therapist or other unrecognized specialist.”

Q.  Shamahl was asked, “How do you work with the liver?”

A.  She answered, “With a skilled touch—hands on, called visceral manipulation.  It is sometimes a light touch, sometimes a deeper touch.”

Q.  Shamahl was asked what other things she had tried to relieve her migraines.

A.  She said that she took medications a little, but she was never comfortable with that.  And chiropractic treatment helped her back, but not her migraines.  She also saw an opthalmologist.

In concluding her talk on craniosacral therapy, Shamahl Nolan mentioned the Health Medicine Forum.  Dr. Len Saputo (one of the East Bay Headache Support Group’s past speakers) had a symposium on migraines.

1.)   Commonly Asked Questions About Craniosacral Therapy, by The Upledger Institute, Inc.

2.)   SomatoEmotional Release, by John E. Upledger, D.O., O.M.M.

3.)   Shamahl A. Nolan - Information Sheet

The intention of the East Bay Headache Support Group is to provide information and resources.  It does not provide medical advice, which should be obtained directly from a physician.