by Sarah Bigham, Artist and Author

 

     Thanks to Lori Leitzel Rice for inviting me to contribute my patient-focused perspective on practitioner communication. Lori is my CranioSacral massage therapist and a dear friend who has seen me through the worst times of my life. I am forever grateful for CranioSacral techniques as well as Lori’s wonderful, listening hands.

     My name is Sarah and I am a chronic pain warrior. I wish a support group existed for people like me, held in a location down the block (car travel makes me flare) with squishy furniture (the only kind I can sit on comfortably, and even then for a maximum of 30 minutes), multiple bathrooms (I have interstitial cystitis, among a host of other things, and those of us with this condition always feel like we have to pee), and maybe donuts (although only a few of us could eat them given the number of special diets chronic pain patients are advised to follow). I would like to be surrounded by others with unrelenting pain, to feel connected to a fellowship of sufferers whose daily victories of staying alive and getting out of bed are remarkable accomplishments. I want us to be able to gather, a logistical impossibility due to the fickle nature of chronic pain, leaving us without the ability to plan activities as we never know if today will be a “good” day or a bad day, with good days being relative.

by Lori Leitzel Rice, LMT, CST-D 

      My feet don’t bend in the morning. They burn as they hit the floor. I can’t do stairs first thing. I’m groggy, the night’s sleep was less than satisfying. Lying on my right side caused my hand to throb and the rest of my arm to go numb. If I turn over, my neck spasms.

     Something hurts every day, to varying degrees. I refer to it affectionately as “The Roving Pain Gnome” (TRPG). TRPG might decide to chew on a knee, or both, or a hip, neck, the lining of my lungs, an elbow, the second knuckle of my right pinkie. Pain comes in all colors and flavors, sharp, dull, stabbing, burning or stinging. Treatment options offer a smorgasbord of experimentation: Elavil, Plaquenil, Prednisone, NSAIDs, opioids, Lyrica, muscle relaxants, Cannabis, whisky, far-infrared heat, meditation, massage, chiropractic, CranioSacral Therapy, acupuncture, yoga, swimming, herbal remedies, supplements, fasting, dietary changes, homeopathy, psychotherapy and rest.

 

by Tami Goldstein, WLMT, CST   

 

      Autism spectrum disorder is a serious neurodevelopmental disorder that impairs a child's ability to communicate and interact with others. Its presentation includes restricted repetitive behaviors, interests, and activities. These issues cause significant impairment in social, occupational, and other areas of functioning.

     My daughter, Heather was diagnosed around age 13 with autism. She was given a bleak prognosis that included a recommendation to institutionalize her. No traditional pharmaceutical supports were working and Heather’s neurosurgeon was recommending brain surgery to “poke around her brain,” but he advised it was highly unlikely there was anything they could do to control the 40 seizures a day. I poured my heart out to Heather’s occupational therapist who was trained in and recommended Upledger - CranioSacral Therapy.