Twelve-year-old Rochelle had begun 7th grade track, and was complaining of significant pain under both her kneecaps, while running and when resting. Her mother was also concerned about her “crooked” running pattern and felt she may cause worse injury to her knees because of excessive side to side motion, and her “knees turning in.” Rochelle noted in one visit that kids teased her, “you run funny.” To add to her challenges she also complained of daily headaches at a 4/10 subjective pain scale, at least three times during the school day at predictable times. She was a sweet happy girl who really enjoyed running and felt she could do better, but her body just wasn’t letting her.
Rochelle was seen for a total of six hour-long CranioSacral therapy sessions. Closer assessment showed why angular forces were causing pain in her knees, and pulling through the spinal cord to cause headaches. Her right shoulder was 3.0 cm above the left, and the right side of the pelvis significantly elevated as well. She had a visible convex left C-curve scoliosis of 25 degrees in the thoracic spine which did not completely straighten with gravity when bending forward from the hips. In fact, her entire trunk was shifted 6 centimeters left, and her spine was rotated with the right shoulder back so much that her pelvis tipped forward on the right giving her a longer left leg.
As if that wasn’t enough going on in her long lean body, she had significant imbalance in her muscle strength from one side to the other, because her alignment was so askew that the muscles couldn’t function properly. She ran like Marilyn Monroe with an exaggerated whip of both legs around and in front, and pulling her arms across the chest so she appeared to leap from side to side sinking into each landing and losing most of her forward momentum.
When she was on the table relaxing, my hands were drawn to several vertebral restrictions between the shoulder blades, and muscle spasms around the shoulders and neck. I freed several facilitated segments, where the nerve irritation causes a constant firing and fatiguing of the muscles. She had force vectors running through the body that were disconnected and angular, and when using direction of energy techniques to help these balance toward center and reconnect through the central channel of the core, she remembered a sledding accident. A couple of years before she had sped down her yard on a sled and grounded out onto pavement and snow by the driveway, landing severely on her right ribcage against the pavement, and whipping to a stop. She immediately began to have head, neck and back pain, which continued for awhile. Fortunately she had received adjustments from an Osteopath until she was more comfortable at the time, but it was obvious that the soft tissue lesion patterns had never fully resolved. As is often the case, we start to feel better and call well enough, before really working toward balance and wholeness.
Once all the above restrictions and asymmetries in her body were addressed and freed, her posture improved enormously, with a centered straight spine, level pelvis and shoulders. Her walking and running pattern also straightened out and became efficient and much smoother, with her legs and knees tracking straight ahead. She went from Marilyn Monroe, to the Bionic Woman with her arms pumping directly in front of her and her legs driving her forward with each stride, and no longer sinking sideways when landing. Her knee pain never returned even though she increased her distance running from 20 miles a week to 40 miles a week. At her last session she had been completely headache free for 2 weeks. Rochelle set an all-time school record in her 120 meter event. She felt more confident and took on a personal running coach who wanted to train her for the “Junior Olympics” because of her increased speed, new smooth form and definite potential. Rochelle went from running funny to having the last laugh as she began to win many events. This is the kind of success story that fills my days as a CranioSacral therapist, and makes me glad I’m at work, able to give people a leg up on their goals in life!
Below is Shawn’s latest painting, Blossoming Cosmos of Divine Love. Click here for a Memorial Day update from her.
For more information on related disorders, check out the following links/articles: