I am posting the response to a question I was asked by a work colleague regarding Craniosacal Works effectiveness with radiation fibrosis after radiation therapy in cancer patients. Although I have not worked specifically with this demographic I find that there are overlapping pathophysiological mechanisms with other conditions that I routinely encouter and this may give some insight into how this work facilitates a treatment sequence.
Regarding the question posed, I don't believe I have worked specifically with this demographic and so I cannot speak directly to that cohort. Yet what I will speak to are the times I have encountered radiation fibrosis of the axillary region and similar presentations of chronic adhesions post shoulder surgery, adhesive capsulitis (frozen shoulder) or even complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) post trauma, that have some overlapping mechanisms and may offer some guidance. The real gift of Visionary Craniosacral work® for me is the deep listening involved. I am talking about full presence listening, one without agenda, or desire just an openess to whatever needs to be shared or not shared. When this listening is present in my sessions, it seems that the intervention in an essence unfolds out of this space, and becomes less about treating the condition and more about treating the individual.
“To know how to choose a path with heart is to learn how to follow intuitive feeling. Logic can tell you superficially where a path might lead to, but it cannot judge whether your heart will be in it.” ~ Jean Shinoda Bolen
For example, I often observe with clients more than one "wound" at the site of injury; not only are those dealing with the physical pain or limitation but also the stress and the emotional component and in some cases the very real question of existence, life or death itself. How this can present for a patient - the biomechanical restrictions at the tissue level be it joint, organ (visceral), blood (vascular), neural or lymphatic, the mental and emotional restriction at the visceral, autonomic nervous system (ANS), central nervous system (CNS) level and then an existential restriction can show up at the deepest quietness of the tides in the cerebrospinal fluid.
So I find my subjective assessment is a space of deep listening where often the patient can feel safe to tell their story. This can often bring to the surface emotion - this of course can have liberating effects on the ANS and with visceral restrictions. In the case of a restricted shoulder an opening at the pericardial fascia and brachial plexus is often observed and a softening of the upper quadrant. Manual work of following tissue tension and unwinding of the upper arm or brachial plexus (as learned in Cranial 2 class) in combination with manual work available to the practitioner can be effective and reassuring to the client as well as diaphragmatic work (learned in Cranial 4) can support visceral immotility both in the supra and subdiaphragmatic regions. Scalene work from (Cranial 5 class) as well as the deeper facets of the work on the cranial anatomy (learned throughout the training) . In short VCSW® is not the modality it is the Heart, and yet the modality is born out of the Heart.
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