hello,i was reading some article that osteopathy and Cranialsacral therapy helped for Chiari malformations?
Does anyone know anything about this? I didn't even know what osteopathy meant before reading that.
I checked on my city and I found 4 osteopath doctors, Im not sure what to think about it, I think I might call and ask them if they know anything about chiari just to see if any of them know more about it.
I was just curious does anyone know if this does help or not?
If you come across a D.O. who is practicing osteopathy and not medicine as a member of a local hospital with admitting privileges, RUN and I mean RUN fast as he is likely a complete quack. He has less training in spinal manipulation than a chiropactor gets in one year. The only reason he is practicing osteopathy is likely because he finished so low in his class, he was not picked up for a residency. There are exceptions, of course. There is no way I’d take the chance either with chiropractic or a partially-trained chiropractor when it comes to Chiari…
There are two kinds of cranial sacral therapies that I am familiar with, one is very benign and simply "channels energy". It won't hurt as nothing is done except a practitioner putting one hand on your butt (conveniently close to the wallet) and moving the other around topside saying things like I'm feeling it. The other method is very dangerous for Chiari patients. They actually attempt to manipulate the lower occipitals. They are putting their fingers right into the tonsils. They can cause some real damage........
I have tried cranial sacral therapy in the past. The results are wonderful, however, they are not longstanding. They wore off rather quickly. The results I received with them are more energy, stamina and mental clarity. Blue Cross had also payed for most of the sessions, as some insurance companies are starting to incorporate homeopathic remedies as actual treatment.
Personally, I would stick with the second comment on cranial sacral therapy - no evidence, no lasting benefit.
As well, if the results are short-lived, I question the resources involved in getting to and from the treatment, the actual treatment, and the financial cost of paying for it regardless if insurance is with it or not. I find a cup of coffee or a nap gives the same results. No offense to people’s preferences - I don’t like to see a fellow Chiarian’s valuable time, energy, and brain power wasted on something so dubious of a nature.
That being said, osteopaths are lovely at listening to you and it feels nice to have someone’s touch for a whole session. I have found that other treatments are actually effective but require work - I guess it is a trade off.
that is interesting what TJ said about there being 2 kinds–I would guess the type that does nothing is just “reiki” although I have had that hurt me when they put their hands on my head and not just float in my “energy field” 
I have had neck and headache pains since 1990 after chiropractic neck adjustments–rue the day because had no symptoms before then–there was another complicating incident won’t go into now–but I did try cranial sacral a few years after that on and off for like 10 years out of desperation–it was fascinating, as my neck ligaments had been loosened up too much from the chiropractic (diagnosed with hypermobility at the time) and if I felt like I “subluxated” cranial sacral, and its so gentle, did somehow cause my spine to seem to “correct” to a degree, it relieved pressure for me—the huge downside was, and reason I quit doing it, is I would get backlash pain that could last weeks upto amonth. I mean bad neck pain–we figured it was a combination of nerve damage irritation that as my body “corrected itself” it irritated nerves and also by drawing fluid upwards thru cervical spine it hurt me because of my stenonis and narrow pathway.
It was always flabbergasting to me how much it helped and hurt at the same time—something so gentle could pack a powerful wallop.So that is interesting maybe they did something to the tonsils too as you mention.
I would think for the right candidates tho it could be a helpful therapy. I switched to just gentle myofascial release when things felt subluxated after that altho that can be painful too and I stopped doing that the last 5 yearsish…
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