Can Craniosacral Help with the Winter Blues?

by SharonHartnett | Feb 5, 2016 | craniosacral, Massage License in Ohio: 33.007505-H-K

Whether you are experiencing the winter blues or a more extreme case of SAD, Craniosacral Therapy can help you you to reconnect to joy and wellbeing.

What do you know about Craniosacral Therapy?

Alleviate Winter Blues

Craniosacral Therapy may help. One in five Americans fall into “seasonal mood disorder”. The shorter days and colder weather brings us inward. It’s a time when we get to be more quiet and reflective. For some people, this isn’t so easy. Women, in particular, can be negatively impacted by the lack of sunlight. By finding out more, you may realize that there is some help. Learn more about your symptoms.

Symptoms that may show up:

Low Energy
Problems Getting Along
Agitation
Staying in Bed
Depression
Overeating
Feeling Anxious
Trouble Concentrating
Losing Interest

If you are one of those people that feels more stressed and disconnected during the winter season, you might want to consider some type of massage therapy. Craniosacral Therapy in particular which focuses on balancing the Central Nervous System can help alleviate anxiety, depression symptoms, and moodiness. With its gentle touch and potential for deep connection, clients can feel more vital, more optimistic and able to face life each day. The internal process of Craniosacral Therapy often helps people to feel more interconnected inside, thus making it more possible to express that with their external environment too. With a more integrative approach, if you are experiencing more extreme symptoms of depression, combining Craniosacral Therapy with psychotherapy can increased you chances let go of debilitating patterns. Current research is showing more and more how beneficial Massage Therapy is for improving life’s outlook. Contact your local Craniosacral Therapist to see if together you can help chase the winter blues away.

Sharon Hartnett LMT, CST, SI

(614) 653-8111

Serving the Columbus, Ohio Area

www.massageincolumbusohio.com

A Great Way to Help with Plantar Fasciitis

by SharonHartnett | Jan 27, 2016 | Craniosacral Therapy, Massage

plantar fasciitis

Plantar Fasciitis Craniosacral Therapy in Columbus, Ohio

When you wake up with stiffness or sharp heel pain the moment your feet hit the floor-of course you want it to heal, right? That is a classic sign of plantar fasciitis, and hands-on therapy can be a helpful part of getting relief.

What is plantar fasciitis?

The plantar fascia is a thick band of connective tissue running along the arch of your foot-to you wish this could get better? from the heel bone to the base of your toes. When it becomes irritated or overloaded, you may feel pain with your first steps in the morning, after sitting for a while, or when walking uphill. It can build gradually or strike suddenly.

Common contributors include excess body weight, high arches or flat feet, running, tight Achilles tendons, and shoes that don’t support your feet well.

How myofascial therapy and craniosacral work can help…

Fascia is meant to glide freely over the bones and muscles of the foot. Over time, poor posture and repeated stress can leave it twisted, rotated, or stuck to the surrounding tissue, which limits healthy movement.

In my Columbus practice, I combine myofascial therapy with craniosacral therapy to help the tissues of the foot soften and unwind, so the foot can move and align more naturally. Many clients notice meaningful changes. The work can be slow and gentle or firmer, depending on what your body needs. I adjust throughout the session by listening to what the fascia tells me.

What else helps…

Manual Therapy works best alongside:

Rest when needed
Supportive shoes with good arch support
Regular stretching of the calves, Achilles, and foot
Gentle exercises for the foot and ankle

Give it time

Plantar fasciitis often takes time to clear. The stress patterns behind it built up gradually, so lasting relief can take a series of sessions.

When to see a doctor

If your pain keeps getting worse, please see a physician for a proper diagnosis.

Book a session
Plantar fasciitis is just one of the conditions I help with. Learn more about craniosacral therapy in Columbus, Ohio or call to schedule.

Sharon Hartnett, LMT, CST, SI
(614) 653-8111

Located in the Village of Worthington
Serving the Columbus, Ohio area

Alleviating Neck Pain with Craniosacral Therapy

by SharonHartnett | Jan 23, 2016 | Craniosacral Therapy, Massage, Massage License in Ohio: 33.007505-H-K, Structural Integration

Have you been suffering from Neck Pain?

Whether you are experiencing neck pain from degenerative disk disease, an injury, osteoarthritis or bad posture, there is usually something you can do to help your condition.

Today, we are going to look at massage and bodywork as a way to treat neck pain. I think this is a relevant topic because millions of people in the US are faced with daily discomfort with their neck. Often the pain will go away by itself, but other times it may become severe enough that people will go seek a doctor’s help, often receiving a steroid injection. This may or may not help overall, but in conjunction with other modalities, there may be a more effective integrative approach.

Neck Pain?

Let’s start by talking about different types of pain. Acute pain is usually the result of the body saying to itself that it is injured. If you have been in an accident or hurt yourself in some way-time to go get this issue checked out with a physician right away. Even if it hurts a little, it can end up becoming a bigger problem later. Chronic pain, on the other hand, is long lasting. Pain signals are constantly firing in the nervous system with no relief. This can go on for a day, or continue into years. The most common types of longing last pain are in the back, next with headaches, and following that with the neck. Neck pain can be serious, and it is important to get it checked out-especially when one starts to feel tingling, numbness or pain down the arm into the hand. What these all have in common though, are that they are connected to the structure of the spine, the cranium and the surrounding soft tissues.

Fortunately, physicians like Dr. John Upledger understood the advantages of using a hands on therapy to help alleviate both acute and chronic pain. His modality of choice, Craniosacral Therapy, came from his background as a doctor of osteopathic medicine. He developed a protocol with different techniques to help therapists worldwide be able to address pain issues with a very gentle touch. We now call this Craniosacral Therapy. While the foundation of the work is based on working lightly with the Cranium and Spine, the work can improve overall functioning of the whole body. In regards to the neck in particular though, Dr. Upledger established a routine so to speak regarding the thoracic inlet, neck and cranium to release tension in that area. It’s called the Avenue of Expression because this of course is the area that connects the body to the head and allows us to fully express ourselves in relationship to others.

The Avenue of Expression when opened up can be life changing for a person. It helps one to find pain relief, open up the throat, the breath and the voice. First, we always begin by spending some time releasing any adhesions or restrictions along the dural tube. Once this is completed, we can take a look at the thoracic inlet which connects the root of the neck with the thorax. Many vital anatomical structures lie within this area. Just to name a few, there is the phrenic and vagus nerve entering the chest, subclavian and thoracic arteries, the T1 nerve room, supra pleural membranes, scalene, lamp channels and brachiocephalic artery and vein on the left side. We do a gentle pressing and releasing there that opens up the area so there is an increased flow between the head and the chest. Next we move on to the infra hyoid musculature, the hard palate and the supra hyoid area. There is more detail to this, but basically the work is designed to approach the avenue of expression in a way to promote flow, dialogue and interconnection. Often, after this is accomplished clients will find themselves also being able to verbally communicate better. When the tension in the throat and chest is released, it’s easier to have a brighter more integrated outlook in life.

If you have more questions about how Craniosacral Therapy can help you to find more balance, wellness and feeling good, please contact Sharon Hartnett.

FAQ Page

Sharon Hartnett CST-D

Worthington, Ohio|Serving the Columbus Area

614 653-8111

To find out more about Craniosacral Therapy, check out my main page.

Can’t Sleep? Try Craniosacral Therapy

by SharonHartnett | Jan 10, 2016 | Craniosacral Therapy, Massage, Massage License in Ohio: 33.007505-H-K, mind body & spirit, Structural Integration, thought for the day

Not able to sleep Well? Looking for some help for Insomnia?

Today I was reading an article that discussed how women often have more challenges with sleep insomnia than men. In my experience, due to hormonal fluctuations, many women that I have seen in my practice would confirm this. They feel restless and can’t stop thinking or worrying either before going to sleep or in the middle of the night. Especially around 3AM. For me, this makes perfect sense as the body system’s are fluctuating due to the menstrual cycle, perimenopause or the like, that for some women, they would not sleep as well due to hormonal falls and rises. They could probably benefit from some type of hormonal support. But the number one reason for insomnia is stress. For women in particular, my guess is that stressful thinking and emotional swings, along with hormonal shifts can make it even more difficult to get the needed rest to have a productive day. That can be tough for a woman.

Can’t sleep well?

What surprised me the most though, was that the article mentioned taking drugs as a remedy to this challenge. On second thought, I guess I shouldn’t be so surprised because as I am writing this, the Universe in its full wisdom has sent a television commercial to come on for a sleeping drug that works with neurotransmitters with a list of negative side effects being marketed to help women sleep better. This has become our social norm. At the end, the watcher is told to ask his/her physician about this drug. I am sure that there are some good benefits to some of these pharmaceuticals. Sometimes we could use an easy way to help us through the night. But is it possible that there are some more natural ways long-term modalities of self-correcting care that are just as good or even better to alleviate stress and sleep disruption? My hope would be that physicians would more often say, “here is a prescription for massage once a week for three months”. Work on getting more exercise and eating well. Why not go take a yoga class?”

I don’t know why I am still constantly baffled that medical insurance covers drugs so easily (which are quite expensive), and that when we watch TV-we are bombarded with drug ads, yet massage and bodywork are still considered more of a luxury than a therapeutic modality that can help with things like sleep, stress, and tension. It does take time to support the body to change longterm and I know that this work doesn’t remedy insomnia for all people, but I have heard lots of positive feedback indicating how much better my clients sleep with their sessions. Research has shown that massage and bodywork are key in helping many people to feel better in so many ways. In my view- one of the keys to this is that we are focusing on the human body with massage which is quite sensory and mindful. During a massage, the thinking brain can relax and feel pleasure again instead of focusing on troubles. The more we receive, the easier it is to re-educate our nervous systems to wind down when done in a professional and healthy way. The integration between the mind, body and spirit is integral to wellness.

Craniosacral Therapy, Myofascial Therapy and Structural Integration have especially been helpful from my view in helping people to relax and let go of stress too. By working with the fascia, which is a 3 dimensional web of connective tissues that holds the body together (including being richly innervated), and helping it to let goof tension, the whole body can relax. Have you ever come out of a good massage and everything feels and looks more positive? The reason I specialize in these modalities, is that I LOVE hearing how relaxed and good people feel afterwards. As human beings, we have the capacity to love, feel pleasure, and to be happy. But sometimes we need a little help. And I am not sure that it always has to come in the form of a pill.

I am not suggesting that medicine be replaced. And by all means, I am not a physician. But my hope is that Massage Therapy, SomatoEmotional Release bodywork and perhaps work by psychotherapists that focus on the mind-body start to become more widespread to the public as a possible alternative to taking drugs for sleep and wellbeing. My hope is that this will eventually be covered by insurance so that all of us can sleep well.

FAQ Page

Sharon Hartnett CST-D

Worthington, Ohio|Serving the Columbus Area

614 653-8111

To find out more about Craniosacral Therapy, check out my main page.

Chronic Myofascial Pain Syndrome Specialty

by SharonHartnett | Jan 6, 2016 | Craniosacral Therapy, Massage License in Ohio: 33.007505-H-K, Structural Integration

Do you have Chronic Myofasical Pain?

When I ask clients who come into my practice with a diagnosis of Chronic Myofascial Pain (CMPS) symptom about their lifestyles, the first significant thing that I usually hear is that they are in jobs with repetitive contractive positions or that they are athletes.

Some of the difficulties they may share are: deep chronic pain that may seem unrelated in different parts of the body, symptoms worsen, eyes tearing up, difficulties sleeping, big knots, and aggravation due to their unrelieved symptoms.

For years I have been working with clients who face similar chronic conditions that don’t seem to get resolved in the traditional sense, so they find me. My approach is to work with the client directly on the myofascial plane first. That is where the pain is, and that it where the body can begin to self-correct.

Often, clients with CMPS, have connective tissue that feels abnormally tight, rigid, immobile and dehydrated. But that doesn’t have to stay that way. Fascia is easy to work with if one is trained properly. By layering in from the more superficial layers into the deeper planes, the all encompassing fascial web can release tension and bring the whole body back into alignment with more ease in rest and motion. However, with CMPS, eventually the massage therapist does need to get in deeper to release those stressed areas. So it’s necessary to find a massage therapist who is willing to use a little elbow if necessary. Also, I have found that although the added pressure is best, Craniosacral Therapy can be very helpful too with its additional techniques as well. By working with the fascia and CSR, especially around the spine, painful energy patterns can dissipate, and the clients often feels more flexibility in motion.

Chronic Headache relief

Not being a physician nor a PT, I can’t give you that type of advice. But I will say, from my experience of many years as a licensed massage therapist, that if you are doing the same contractive movement every day, it might be difficult to get out of pain permanently. This is one those times, that making a commitment to weekly myofascial therapy would be beneficial for most. On the other hand, if you can stretch, do yoga, learn new ways to move that create more balance in your body, that would probably make life a lot easier. Truly an integrative lifestyle approach is going to help you the best.

There is no reason why you should stay in pain.

Sharon Hartnett LMT

(614) 653-8111

www.massageincolumbusohio.com

Serving the Columbus, New Albany and Johnstown area.

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