Open Source Cranio

Tag: Dural Tube

  • Cranio Sacral Therapist and Student Newsletter 22

    March 23 – 2007
    Questions and comments for this issue:

    + Postnatal depression.
    + Trigeminal neuralgia.
    + Bipolar disorder.

    Hello,
    Just let me put my machete down for a minute so
    I can tell you about a new study on healing and
    men.
    That’s right I said men, manly men.
    Are you listening to me Pilgrim?

    ‘Males typically defined as masculine – strong,
    capable of endurance and tough – were seen to have
    an improved recovery rate,’ says Professor Glen
    Good of the University of Missouri-Columbia.

    ‘It has long been assumed that men are not as
    concerned and don’t take as good of care of their
    health, but what we’re seeing here is that the
    same ideas that led to their injuries may actually
    encourage their recovery.’

    So that’s it for me.  Out with the pink loafers
    and the angora sweaters and in with the DKNY
    combat fatigues and the Gucci backpacks.  It’s
    rugged hard living for me from now on.
    That’s right I’m drinking tap water and hiking
    to the coffee shop.

    So let’s saddle up and have a look see at the mailbag.

    ***QUESTION***

    Dear John,
    I really enjoy your newsletters.  I have been
    getting them for quite a while now but have never
    asked you anything before, so here goes.

    A woman called me the other day to ask if cranio
    could help with postnatal depression.  I said yes
    and set up an appointment to see her next week.

    I have never treated postnatal depression before
    so I read up on it.  Nothing is jumping out as a
    possible cranio sacral link.  I will ‘treat what I
    find’ when I see her but was just wondered if you
    had any experience of it.

    Thanking you in advance.

    JL
    London.

    PS. I downloaded your book and it is excellent.
    Should be a bestseller.

    MY COMMENTS:

    Thank you for the kind words.
    I have found that postnatal depression is a
    condition that responds really well to cranio
    sacral.

    The root cause is often as a result of the
    birth process.  The main causes being one or a
    combination of the following – Labor, forceps,
    ventouse, caesarean section and epidural.

    The birth process can leave the mother’s pelvic
    floor full of restrictions.  This in turn
    pulls the dural tube inferiorly which in turn
    translates into the intracranial membranes and
    affects the sphenoid which in turn leads to
    depression.

    I have seen this pattern in 95% of the women I
    have treated for postnatal depression.

    It usually resolves pretty quickly.  6 or 7
    weeks.  The initial treatments focus on getting
    the pelvic floor to come into harmony and release.
    Then once that happens it’s a matter of following
    that work up the dural tube into the head until
    the sphenoid settles.

    I have treated women who have suffered with
    postnatal depression for up to 10 years.  After
    that length of time they are nearly always on
    medication and their second or third
    psychologist/counsellor.

    It is fantastic and at the same time sad that
    it takes so little to get rid of the symptoms and
    how much heartache that could be avoided if they
    had treatment earlier.

    ***QUESTION***

    Dear John,
    I am a Cranio Sacral Therapist. I studied with The
    Upledger Institute and have been a Therapist for
    nearly 2years. I truly am amazed at what this
    therapy can achieve.  The reason I am writing to
    you is because I have recently been introduced to
    Trigeminal Neuralgia which I had never heard of
    until now. I just wanted to inquire when you treat
    this problem what areas do you treat for success.
    I would appreciate any feed back on this you may
    give me.
    Thank you so very much.
    H.I.
    Australia.

    MY COMMENTS:

    To get an understanding of trigeminal neuralgia
    you need to study the structure of the trigeminal
    nerve.
    I’ll run through it briefly here.

    The Trigeminal nerve is the largest in diameter
    of the cranial nerves.  It is predominantly a
    sensory nerve receiving sensory input from the
    face and scalp.  It also provides some motor
    supply to the mylohyoid and the anterior belly of
    the digastric.

    The two trigeminal nerves leave the pons and
    travel anteriorly for about two centimetres under
    the tentorium.  The trigeminal then forms a
    ganglion out of which it branches into the 3
    divisions.

    OPHTHALMIC DIVISION
    The ophthalmic division receives sensation from
    the eye balls, the lacrimal glands and the skin of
    the forehead, eyelid and nose.  It enters the
    orbit through the superior orbital fissure.

    Just before it enters the superior orbital
    fissure, it sends some sensory fibres to the
    tentorium.  That’s why pain behind the eyes can be
    an indication of tentorial tension.

    MAXILLARY DIVISION
    This division is entirely sensory and receives
    sensation from the skin of the middle portion of
    the face, lower eye lid, side of the nose, upper
    lip, roof of the mouth, gums and teeth.
    The Maxillary branch exits the cranium through
    the foramen rotundum which is formed in the
    sphenoid.

    MANDIBULAR DIVISION
    This is the largest of the three branches of
    the trigeminal.
    It receives sensation from the lower lip, lower
    face, inner cheek, tongue, lower teeth and gums
    and the temporomandibular joint.
    It also has a motor aspect supplying the
    temporalis, the masseter, pterygoid, mylohyoid and
    the anterior digastric.
    It exits the cranium through the foramen ovale
    which is also located in the sphenoid.

    So that is the rough geography.
    If you are treating someone with trigeminal
    neuralgia trace the pathway of the trigeminal
    nerve with your intention.

    Pay particular attention to the areas of
    vulnerability which are for the ophthalmic
    division,

    • the superior orbital fissure.

    For the maxillary division,

    • the foramen rotundum,
    • the maxilla,
    • palatine,
    • sphenoid
    • and zygomae.

    And for the mandibular branch,
    the foramen ovale,

    • the TMJ area.

    ***QUESTION***

    Hi John

    It is a long time since I have written to you, but
    thanks for all the newsletters – I look forward to
    receiving them.

    I want to ask your help today. I have some friends
    in Cape Town who have a son approx 40 years old
    who has suffered from Bi Polar since he was about
    15 yrs old.

    They have tried every possible treatment, but have
    had no success. I would like to advise them about
    the condition and ‘Cranio’ and then to advise them
    to seek help CranioSacrally

    Please advise ASAP

    Kind regards

    John Rosen

    Johannesburg SA

    MY COMMENTS:

    I treated a woman before I left Brisbane who
    had Bipolar for thirty five years.  She had been
    institutionalised a couple of times and had been
    given shock treatment at the start of the 90’s and
    again in 2000.

    When she came to see me she was in the process
    of weening herself off her medication.  The
    pattern of her symptoms was two months of feeling
    very high followed by two moths of feeling very
    low and so on.  When she came to see me she was in
    a low.

    Taking her case history was very intense
    because she was obviously in a lot of emotional
    pain and couldn’t stop crying.  We got through it
    and she lay on the table and I assessed her.

    It turned out that the root cause of her
    symptoms was – physical. Her sphenoid was
    restricted.

    In the course of taking her case history it had
    come out that she was a forceps delivery.  As you
    know, the sphenoid isn’t ossified when you are a
    new born.  This woman’s right greater wing was
    torsioned in relation to the body of the sphenoid.
    The right greater wing was also side bending in
    relation to the body, meaning the right wing was
    much more anterior than the left wing when the
    sphenoid was in neutral.

    It always feels to me that the patterns of
    restriction in the sphenoid act as indicators of
    the deeper restrictions in the membranes.  Bone
    doesn’t move on it’s own.  Trauma is nearly always
    held most strongly in the membranes.

    The other thing I’ve found with depression and
    the sphenoid is that it’s not the sphenoid that
    brings on depression but rather the effect the
    pattern of restriction has on the pituitary gland
    which is sitting atop the sphenoid in the sellae
    turcica.  Particularly as the infundibulum of the
    pituitary perforates the diaphragma sellae.

    The restriction pattern in this woman’s
    sphenoid was like this.  Deep patterns of
    restriction held in the tent and surrounding
    membranes since birth.  Her pituitary was also
    under pressure at its infundibulum.

    She saw me for six treatments at the end of
    which she was neutral.  Not high, not low.  She
    couldn’t remember ever feeling like that for more
    than a day or so when she was in transition from
    high to low or visa versa.

    I was in email contact with her about two
    months later and she was still symptom free.

    35 years of symptoms sorted out in six weeks.
    Who’s glad they’re a cranio sacral therapist!
    Hands in the air! Come on, you at the back, hands
    in the air!

    Not all people with bipolar will respond as
    well as this woman.  Not all bipolar is caused by
    restrictions in the cranio sacral system.  I would
    encourage your friends to get their son assessed
    by a good cranio sacral therapist. It will all
    help.

    So that’s it for this issue.

    Cheerio for now John.

    Till the next time.

    Your Mate,

    John D.

  • Why doesn’t C2 supply the superior cervical ganglion?

    + Why doesn’t C2 supply the superior cervical ganglion? – November 05

    Hello John,
    I am having a lot of trouble getting a visual, 3-D
    sense, of the sympathetic chain.  Particularly
    nerve supply.  For example, why isn’t the superior
    cervical ganglion supplied by C1 or 2?

    Any help would be appreciated.

    M.L.
    Sydney.

    >>>MY COMMENTS:

    The most helpful thing you can do if you are
    having trouble getting, as you say, a 3-D, sense
    of some part of anatomy is to make a 3-D model of
    it.  Make your model out of anything you like.
    You don’t have to be good at crafts and it doesn’t
    have to look pretty.  You will learn a lot from
    putting the pieces together.

    So while you go off to collect egg boxes and
    pipe cleaners, here’s something I prepared
    earlier.

    Think of the sympathetic division of the
    autonomic nervous system like two highways, one on
    either side of a long suburb called ‘Spinal cord
    T1 – L2’.

    Nerves impulses leave the suburb and go onto
    the highway via ‘On’ ramps and exit the highway
    via ‘Off’ ramps.

    ‘On’ ramps are called White communicantes.
    ‘Off’ ramps are called Gray communicantes.  The
    white ones are white because they have a myelin
    sheath.

    So just like any highway, you enter at one
    point, travel along for a while and then exit at
    another point.  Nerve impulses in the sympathetic
    chain are no different.  They enter the
    sympathetic chain at one vertebral level and exit
    at another.

    Now along these twin highways are service
    stations.  Places where you can get out and
    stretch your legs, change cars if you like or
    split yourself in four and drive off in four
    different cars going in different directions.

    No hang on, that was a dream I had last night.

    It may be stretching the analogy but it is what
    nerve impulses do.  The service stations are the
    paravertebral ganglia that make up the beads in
    the chain.   At these service stations (ganglia)
    nerve impulses may change cars (synapse) and
    continue on their way in a new car (nerve).

    or they might drive off in four different cars
    in four different directions along axon
    collaterals (branches).

    Now here’s the bit I think you’re getting stuck
    on.  Remember the suburb all the nerve impulses
    live in?

    Humour me.

    It’s called ‘Spinal cord T1 – L2’

    The sympathetic division may supply all parts
    of the body but it only emerges from the spinal
    cord and so only penetrates the dura between T1-
    L2.

    So it makes sense that there are more ‘Off’
    ramps (gray communicantes) than ‘On’ ramps (white
    communicantes).

    14 ‘On’ ramps and 31 ‘Off’ ramps to be exact.

    Each highway usually has 22 service stations
    (paravertebral ganglion) but instead of them being
    called, ‘the servo that has a McDonalds’ or ‘the
    one that has KFC’, they’re called cervical,
    thoracic, lumbar and sacral ganglia.

    and not a big Mac in sight.

    You want a coke with those fries or are you
    still with me?

    Good.
    Now that you have a new found understanding of
    the structure of the sympathetic chain . . .
    just nod . . . it’s time for some audience participation.

    The superior cervical ganglion is located
    posterior to carotid artery and anterior to
    transverse process of C2, right?  Keep nodding.

    At what level of the spinal cord do the
    sympathetic nerves emerge that supply the superior
    cervical ganglion?

    That’s correct! T1 or below.

    and the middle cervical ganglion?

    Correct again! T1 or below.

    Now, you’ve got it.  Well look, we could chat
    about this all day but you’ve got a model to make.

    The significance of all this tomfoolery is that
    if the sympathetic chain is compressed anywhere it
    can have the effect of switching on the whole
    sympathetic chain. Not good.

    This can put you in constant ‘fight or flight’
    mode.  Making you fearful and agitated with poor
    digestion and lousy sleep.   You’ll be sensitive
    to bright lights because your pupils are locked
    open and you’ll have excess adrenalin in your body
    which has a long term corrosive effect on your
    nervous system.

    Whadaya mean reading my response has had the
    same effect?

  • Sciatica

    + Which technique should I use? – September 05

    + Comment from Al Pelowski, principal tutor with The South
    African Institute of Cranial Studies. on sciatica- October 05


    Hi John,
    Found your web site very useful and your URL easy to remember.
    I use it as my virtual business card. I have been treating a man in
    his late fifties with sciatica. I have had some success but feel I
    could achieve more.

    Can you recommend any techniques that you have found
    particularly useful for sciatica?
    Thanks
    J.P.
    Brisbane.

    >>>MY COMMENTS:

    Glad you like the site.
    I’m going to answer your question in two parts. Let me start by
    saying no one technique is ‘the’ technique for ANYTHING.

    Techniques are ways we get a handle on the bigger picture.
    And the biggest picture is what you need to be available for.
    I am putting it like that because describing it as ‘looking’ for
    the biggest picture is way too active, eager, inefficient and INTURSIVE.
    You need to ask yourself, what is really going on here?
    Why has this person got these particular symptoms?
    Why are the symptoms in this configuration?
    What’s the root cause of this situation?

    Symptoms generally manifest physically, meaning they show up
    in the person’s body.  But that doesn’t mean the CAUSE of those
    symptoms is exclusively physical.

    Often EMOTIONAL issues will express themselves as physical symptoms.
    It doesn’t just stop there, often the root cause of what is going
    on has a physical component, caused by an emotional component
    but the root cause is not emotional it is something DEEPER.

    That may sound spooky or kooky to you depending on your slant
    but I have seen it time and again, where the root cause was deeper
    than physical and emotional issues.

    How can that be?

    Let’s go through it one layer at a time.
    Physical problems.
    These problems are characterised by very physical causes and
    descriptions,  ‘The tentorium cerebelli is pulled inferiorly here,
    causing pressure there . . .etc’.
    Regardless of the source of a pattern of a restriction, it will show
    up physically.  Becoming accurate in identifying the extent and
    complexity of physical restrictions takes a lot of practice and is
    a prerequisite for working with the deeper causes.

    Emotional issues/causes.
    Restrictions in the emotional aspect of the person can have causes
    like, a person may need to leave a partner or job or it may be an old
    emotional abuse.
    Emotional restrictions are more difficult to identify accurately
    because it’s very easy to start theorising about the person’s problems
    instead of simply receiving the information from the person’s body in
    the same way you do with physical patterns.

    Core problems
    These relate to how the person sees themselves in their lives, their
    relationship with themselves, with God, with their idea of God.
    A feeling that they’re off track.
    And no, you don’t need to know what their track is.
    Core problems can feel like fundamental disharmonies within the
    person.  They are the hardest to perceive because they are so deep
    in the person.
    Your ability to see and work with these core issues comes with lots
    of practice and humility.
    Their revelation occurs in the dynamic between you and the person
    and what you have to offer each other.

    Are you with me?

    It generally works its way through the layers something like this.
    A disharmony in a person’s core will affect them emotionally and
    in turn affect them physically.
    For example someone might think they are fundamentally bad.
    This could manifest emotionally as anxiety and paranoia, which
    could manifest physically as headaches and chronic fatigue.
    The skill comes in being able to assess where the root cause of
    the problem is.

    Before you go charging off into the great mystery, let me add this.
    It can be as easy to go the other way and start looking for deep
    emotional and core issues as the root cause of a purely physical
    problem.

    ‘I just twisted my knee Mate!’

    Now the second part of my answer is purely physical.
    There are lots of different ways of creating sciatica.
    It’s a pain, which means there have to be nerves involved.
    The pain generally is in the lower back and travels down one
    leg or the other, sometimes both.

    Have a look at, [in books and with your hands] the lumbar plexus,
    the sacral plexus.  How are the nerves on both sides of the spinal
    column as they leave the vertebral foramina?

    Scan the nerves up as far as the thoraco-lumbar junction.
    Remember tight membranes can pull vertebrae together and pinch nerves.
    Consider how long the person has been getting the pain?
    Getting a sense of when and how the pattern of restriction was formed.
    So, look particularly at the dural tube.
    How are the membranes running?
    Most particularly how is the cerebro spinal fluid moving?
    Find ways to help it come into a harmonious flow.
    It’s all about flow.

    Top

    ***COMMENT FROM AL PELOWSKI***
    – On additional physical causes of sciatica.

    John,
    Some of the rootlets of the sciatic nerve pass through the psoas
    muscle – a noted emotional contractor- – slightly bent over posture,
    unable to fully extend hips without pain, affected leg externally rotated.
    Another sciatica tip: usually on right side, I-C Valve, Caecum.

    Yet other possibilities: Leg length differences, real bony differences,
    or more likely due to rotations in the leg from protecting an old sprained
    ankle or twisted knee — most commonly external rotation in the foot
    where there has been damage to the ankle lateral colateral ligaments
    — resulting in compression of the S-I joint and thus irritation of the epineuria.
    “from the ankle joint to the knee joint…etc” Remember the tune?

    Yo. Ta for newsletter. Much food for reflection
    A

    >>>MY COMMENTS:

    Thanks Al. All very useful places to look for the mechanics of
    the physical manifestation of sciatica.