MyBlog™ Personal blog of Mark Adams, business and IT guru

Cranialsacral Massage Magic

Today at work, I switched from third shift to second shift and finally got to see the massage therapist that my boss has been bringing in on a regular basis for the employees.

I have had myofascial pain in my intercostal muscles for over four years, and recently was diagnosed with "rib restrictions" that are likely causing the pain. I was slightly excited about getting some assistance outside of physical therapy.

When I stepped into the room where the massage therapist had set up her table, she asked me if I was next, and I said that I had some queries for her first.

The massage therapist introduced herself as Kara. Kara is  a well dressed, blond, white woman in her twenties with long hair, and today was dressed in a fashionable black skirt and boots.

I asked Kara if she knew anything about massage therapy for myofascial pain and she replied that she was certified in myofascial release. She said that it's a gentle type of massage where the muscles are slowly stretched. I was excited about trying it, but when it was my turn, she actually wanted to try something different called cranialsacral massage therapy. Before we got started, she referred to it as a very gental touch therapy and she thought that it could help me a lot. Since she was the expert, I thought it was worth a try, and I suggested that maybe we could try the more typical myofascial release therapy the next time she came out so that I could determine which was the most effective for me.

Lying on the table on my stomach, I immediately wasn't very comfortable. Because of my pain, I find it usually comfortable to rest my arms anywhere other than at my sides, but dangling them off of the edges of the table wasn't good as the table was too wide at the chest. I also felt like the face pillow was angled up too much, and it bent my next backwards slightly. I don't know if any of this is normal, as I admint that this is the first time I've ever been in a massage chair. I didn't say anything, although I should have asked since I was unsure.

While lying on my stomach, I heard her rub her hands together very briefly and then immediately rest one hand at the base of my skull and the other as low on my back as she could get without my feeling awkward at the situation. Her hands felt strangely warm.

We started talking about the traffic accident that had been determined by my doctor to likely have caused my pain due to the impact and the seat belt. After that, things drifted and we talked about family, the weather, probably the usual small talk stuff. Kara had explained that she had been studying psychology as a career goal, but had been struggling with frequent migraines. She said that a massage therapist rescued her with cranialsacral massage therapy and now her migraines are much less frequent. It's this positive experience that had her change her major from psychology to massage therapy. Kara definitely had a good way of making conversation and I didn't know if that should be attributed to her psychology training or her massage therapy training.

I don't remember if I prompted the discussion on what the actual cranialsacral therapy was or not, but Kara explained that there is something that runs between the skull and through the spine and that sometimes the flow gets stuck at places. By touching the places, using some technique that I couldn't really identify or feel, she relieved the barriers of the flow. I asked how she could determine when it was unstuck, and she said that through practice she had learned to feel the flow, almost like a pulse.

I commented that Kara's hands felt very warm and she said that it was because she was channeling energy into them. She stated that she would have a hard time explaining what she did to cause it, but the obvious thing that most people could witness was the extreme warmth. I don't know if this is magic, or if she used some type of hand creme, but her hands were quite warm, almost like a heating blanket. I definitely witnessed it. It was very soothing as she slowly worked her hands up my spine, stopping in places for short periods.

When we were nearly done, Kara asked me if I drank very much water. I told her the truth, that I usually get the correct amount at work, but on the weekends, I'm pretty bad at staying  hydrated. She suggested that I drink plenty of water today, so that the toxins that she released wouldn't settle in my body and make me sore. My logical mind explains this as the suggestion provided by a stage psychic. If I felt sore later, I'd attribute it to not drinking enough water. When normally, I'm sore anyway, and that's after all why I went to the therapist. Whether I was sore or not, just drinking water, if I'm normally dehydrated, might make me feel better on its own. She also mentioned that I might feel some minor spine crackling, and that it was normal. This seemed unlikely to me, as she'd barely touched anything, but she claimed that my spine was adjusted very gently.

Kara gave me her business card, and told me her rates, and suggested that I research some of the techniques listed on her card on the Internet as it would be easier for me to understand than for her to try to explain them to me in a short therapy session. I personally don't have the time, or the interest, but if it works it works. At this point, I haven't noticed a difference after the cranialsacral therapy.

One thing I did note was that the vertical business card of the salon where she works has a very nice color scheme and isn't horribly ugly considering the very weak logo and simple layout. Kara also sold herself very well, and she seemed to be doing a good job networking with her clients. Whether she's seeking a practice of her own outside the salon, I was unclear of. I wasn't sure if she was selling me her personal rates or those of the salon if I asked for her.

I'll definitely post on this again after I try the regular myofascial release and also if I feel anything later that I would attribute to this therapy. Is this something that I didn't get benefit from since I didn't believe in it, or is it something more tangible? I don't know, but I'd definitely classify it as holistic. Please let me know what you think about cranialsacral massage therapy, with some comments.

UPDATE: I never did try out the myofascial release, because I had forgotten that Kara even said she was trained in it the next time I got a massage. Apparently she'd forgotten that we'd discussed it also. Instead, I think I was just getting regular massages, which were very firm but oddly felt good afterward, even if they didn't help with my myofascial pain. If anything it almost felt like I'd just worked out, which is a nice thing to experience in the middle of the day without actually having to work out.