Integrated Therapies
Karen, Dr. Alain Croibier
and Dr. Jean Pierre Barral
New Orleans,'08
Visceral/Neural Manipulation and Cranial Therapy by Karen Barker
Dr J.P. Barral, an osteopath in Grenoble, France, developed Visceral Manipulation in 1971. Dr. Barral was treating a patient who had back pain. The patient confirmed he felt relief when "an old man" he'd been going to "pushed on his abdomen". Dr. Barral noticed increased movement in his spine. This sparked his curiosity in the body's internal relationship with the spine.
After years of research, thousands of clients, and his profound knowledge of the anatomy, he developed Visceral Manipulation. Europeans undergo vigorous testing in VM before earning their diploma on the internal structures.
There are 4 factors that they have found influence the function of the viscera. The soft tissue that is to be referred to as the viscera is the nerve tissue, blood vessels, organs and the brain.
Physical Factor: encompasses motor vehicle accidents, birth, falls surgery and abuse both physical and sexual.
Chemical: includes excess alcohol, smoking, poisoning and exposure to toxic substances, drugs, and infections be it viral or bacterial.
Thermal: heat exhaustion, sunstroke, frostbite, hypothermia, burns.
Emotional: increased stress, anger, depression, and fears.
The viscera governed by the involuntary nervous system do not differentiate between physical and psychological pain. For example receiving news of the death of a loved one can cause real physical symptoms of nausea, stomach pain, dizziness, etc.
In a treatment loose clothing is worn. The internal structures have a different tension in gravity than in lying down, so assessments are done in standing and in sitting.
The brain in also classified as viscera. The cranial osteopathic techniques release strain patterns in the membranes surrounding the brain therefore restoring balance in the environment around the brain. Yes, it directly affects the cerebrospinal fluid as in the craniosacral work of Dr. John Upledger. Since 1985, the Upledger Institute only offers Dr. Barral's Visceral Manipulation exclusively. Many therapists are well versed in the cranial sacral therapy.
I have had the pleasure of completing all of Barral's classes and have been studying under him since 1997. In October 1999 I traveled to France to the International Osteopathic College to study the urogenital work. I see amazing results in Visceral Manipulation and have had the personal experience through my chronic pain journey of this profound work. I see it as a key to wellness....Naturally.
Unique benefits in the treatment of:
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Fractures or broken bones
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Whiplash or Falls
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Emotional depression/anxiety
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Sports Injuries
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Joint and Ligament Injuries
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Scar Tissue resulting from injury, post radiation or surgical adhesions
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Traumatic Brain Injuries
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Sensory Changes; tingling, numbness, nerve pain, sciatic, spinal cord injury
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Degenerative conditions, osteoarthritis
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Migraines, Headaches
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Post partum Conditions and Difficult Deliveries
Unique Benefits in Providing Assistance with Childhood Conditions such as:
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Birth Trauma (moms can benefit too)
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Delayed Fine or Gross Motor skills
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Seizure Activity
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Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity
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Poor Sleep Patterns
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Learning Disabilities
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Digestive Difficulties and Colic
Treatment Sessions
Mobility tests are gentlely assessed in standing and seated positions as the body holds itself different in gravity than in lying down. The evaluation is done with the patient fully clothed. The client's history and symptoms are then discussed. The more in depth clinical findings are shared at the end or during the treatment session following with recommendations.
Insurance Coverage
Some treatments may be partially or fully covered. Please check with your Insurance Representative for details if you have coverage for Registered Massage Therapy.
Cancellation Policy
We appreciate a 24 hour notice of cancellations, otherwise full payment is required. Thank you for your co-operation. For those travelling in winter months consideration is given to weather and road conditions.
Fee schedule
One hour is $100.00 includes GST
Cheque and cash accepted
1/2 hour is $50.00 includes GST
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What is Visceral Manipulation? By Sandra Boniface
It is with sadness I share that Sandra passed away Spring of 2007. I am honored to have this article written by her as she was a great friend and mentor.
Visceral Manipulation has its origins in Osteopathy. When a person's well-being and functioning are compromised by such events as physical injury, disease or infection and psychological trauma such as severe stress, the body is shocked into responsive processes that produce deep tensions in the connective tissue system. Visceral Manipulation seeks to identify the locations of the deepest tensions and by gentle, non-invasive physical therapy to unlock the body's natural self-corrective capabilities and restore the person to enhanced health and improved function.
Visceral Manipulation therapy is a dynamic interplay of organ mobility within the fluidity of the connective tissue system. Each organ rotates on an internal physiological axis. Any disruption of this axis of movement can result in deep structural changes within the person's individual biomechanics, affecting the nervous system and putting pressure on various functions causing painful symptoms.
Visceral Manipulation works on the premise that all the body tissues and organs are in constant motion and interconnected via the connective tissues. A healthy body is free to be flexible with the capabilities to accommodate for various stresses of daily living. The body tissues are elastic and will reform to shift and accommodate from a significant area of tension in an attempt to maintain an equilibrium in the full body's biomechanics.
When the body's equilibrium is exhausted by injury, stress, or disease multiple symptoms can occur. Our history is stored in our body tissues, and nothing is forgotten. A new injury can wake up old tension patterns in the body that can be causative in the development of painful symptoms. Often we seek treatment for symptoms, overlooking the need to treat the more subtle aspects of the injury. Visceral Manipulation works with the subtle effects of trauma/stress to help maximize or restore health and provides unique benefits that regular stretching and localized muscle therapy does not offer.
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The Cranial Sacral System
Courtesy of the Upledger Institute
We are all familiar with the cardiovascular and respiratory rhythms. Like them, another body rhythm - the craniosacral system - influences many body functions. An imbalance in this system can adversely affect the development of the brain and spinal cord which can result in sensory, motor and intellectual dysfunction.
The craniosacral system is a physiological system that exists not only in humans but in animals possessing a brain and spinal cord. Its formation begins in the womb and its function continues until death.
Its name, craniosacral, is derived from the associated bones. Included are those of the skull, face and mouth - which make up the cranuim - and extend down the spinal cord to the sacrum. Membranes enclosing a hydraulic system connect the craniosacral system.
For 20 years, osteopathic physician and surgeon Dr. John Upledger has been the chief proponent for using the craniosacral system to evaluate and treat medical problems associated with pain and dysfunction. His research and clinical work with the craniosacral rhythm has led to the development of a light-touch manipulative therapy which has been effective in treating poorly understood dysfunctions, chronic pain, lowered vitality and recurring infections.
The positive effect of CranioSacral Therapy relies to a large extent upon the patient's natural self-corrective physiologic activities. The therapist's light hands-on approach assists the hydraulic forces inherent in the craniosacral system to improve the body's internal environment.
Because of its influence on many body functions, CranioSacral Therapy is used today by a wide variety of healthcare professionals including osteopaths, medical doctors, doctors of chiropractic medicine, psychiatrists, psychologists, dentists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, acupuncturists and licensed body workers.
How Does CranioSacral Therapy Help You?
CranioSacral Therapy is used to locate and solve problems. It encourages your own natural mechanisms to improve the functioning of your brain and spinal cord, to dissipate the negative effects of stress and to enhance your general health and resistance to disease.
How is CranioSacral Therapy Performed?
CranioSacral Therapy is a gentle, non-invasive manipulative technique. Seldom does the therapist apply pressure which exceeds five grams or the equivalent weight of a nickel. Examination is done by testing for movement in various parts of the system. Often, when movement testing is completed, the restriction has been removed and the system is able to self-correct.
Trained therapists are able to palpate the motion of the craniosacral system anywhere on a patient's body. Valuable information can be gained very quickly with regard to rate, amplitude symmetry and quality if craniosacral motion.
The regions of the craniosacral system, which can be easily palpated, are the bones of the skull, sacrum and coccyx because they attach to the membranes enclosing the cerebrospinal fluid. This fluid is filtered out of the blood in a dynamic feedback loop. Pressures build as the as the amount of cerebrospinal fluid increases, bathing the brain and spinal cord - acting like a semi-closed hydraulic system. When the fluid moves - normally at a rate of 6 to 12 cycles per minute - the membranes containing the fluid move.
Palpation is possible with all of the other bones of the spine and pelvis. Because of their less direct effect on the hydraulic system, however, it is more difficult to detect the motion. The same is true of the facial bones and the temporomandibular joints.
What is the Origin of CranioSacral System and its Therapy?
While the existence of the cardiovascular and respiratory rhythms is not disputed today, a debate concerning their reality raged in medical communities around the globe for centuries. Even today, treatments for afflictions associated with these systems remains as diverse as the diseases and their individual practitioners - especially in the area of health maintenance. The history of the craniosacral system's discovery is fairly recent.
In the early 1900's, as an osteopathic student in Kirksville, Missouri, Dr. William G. Sutherland, was struck by an idea. He saw that the bones of the skull were designed, as they were to provide the opportunity for movement, in relationship to each other. For more than 20 years, he pondered the prospect of moveable bones in the adult skull. He performed makeshift experiments on himself with helmet-like devices designed to impose variable controlled and sustained pressures on different parts of his head. His wife then recorded personality changes he displayed in response to different pressure applications; he described had pains, problems with coordination, etc., related to the varied pressures. In the early 1930's, under a pseudonym in the Minnesota Osteopathic Journal, Dr. Sutherland published his first article about this work.
Based in his experiments, he developed a system of examination and treatment for the bones of the skull. With some patient success, Dr. Sutherland organized a small group of osteopaths who studied cranial work with him. His system became known as Cranial Osteopathy. Because so little was known about how it worked and because results with patients seemed at times to be miraculous, Sutherland's system acquired an understandably esoteric reputation.
In 1970, during a surgery on a patient's neck, Dr. Upledger viewed the rhythmical movement of a membranous boundary of what appeared to be a hydraulic system. None of his colleagues or any of the medical texts had an explanation for his observation that the dura mater, the outer layer of the meningeal membrane, in the neck visibly moved in and out at about 10 cycles per minute. He concluded that the pressure inside the membrane sack was fluctuating rhythmically. Two years later, Dr. Upledger attended a seminar, which explained Sutherland's ideas and taught some of his evaluation and treatment techniques. Coupling his scientific background with a tactile sensitivity, Dr. Upledger was quick to understand how a hydraulic system might function inside a membranous sac encased within the skull and canal of the spinal column. Dr. Upledger incorporated and refined Dr. Sutherland's technique with success.
In 1975, he was asked to join the Osteopathic College at Michigan State University as a clinician-researcher and professor in the department of Biomechanics. He led a multidisciplinary research team made up of anatomists, physiologists, biophysicists, and bioengineers through the maze of research, which first established the scientific basis for the craniosacral system.
The team was able to explain in scientific and practical terms the function of the craniosacral system. It also showed how this system could be used to evaluate and treat malfunctions involving the brain and spinal cord as well as a myriad of other health problems that previously were misunderstood or poorly understood.
In the two decades since his initial research, Dr. Upledger has written three textbooks: Craniosacral Therapy; CranioSacral Therapy II, Beyond the Dura and Somato Emotional Release and Beyond explain the functioning of the craniosacral system in detail. IN 1985, he established the Upledger Institute, Inc., a clinical and educational resource center. Since then, thousands of healthcare professionals have studied the therapeutic value of the craniosacral system.
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Urogenital Dyfunctions and Infertility in Women
by Karen Barker
Many women that have come for help have got relief and balance in their cycle. There are various contributing factors to urogential/infertility issues. Our emotional stressors highly effect this system in our body. It is important to honor yourself and committ daily to a self care regime be it meditation, proper diet, cardiovascular activity, and cultivating a positive outlook. I will say some women that were struggling with fertility issues concieved.
The osteopathic manual therapy addresses the communication between different structures. This includes the kidneys, small intestine, ovaries, placement of the uterus, the pituitary gland and brain are also a factor.
For example, a woman struggling with infertility had constant left hip problems. In manipulating the alignment of the uterus. left kidney and positioning of the small intestines this can relieve undo mechanical stressors in the urogenital area so the body can resume normal functions such as conception.
Loose clothing is worn. The manual therapy is precise and gentle.
I work closely with a naturopathic doctor who looks at diet and herbal support.
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Try some art on those snow days. This is what I experienced as I drove home from work Dec. 4, 2008. Clouds took the formation of what felt like daisy petals and the moon was at the centre. Entitled "Moonflower"
