Treating Children Using CranioSacral & Physical Therapy

It's never too early to optimize your child's health and function

Children are a very special blessing in this world and having the opportunity to treat them is a sacred honor. Children, meaning newborns to early teens, are growing at such a rapid rate that little differences in development and physical ability can mean expediential changes in their life.

Adam has worked with the pediatric population for almost 12 years. The majority of that time he treated children in a very traditional way, understanding mile stones and what types of stimulation could help the children achieve those mile stones. In the last five years, Adam has found a different approach. This approach views the child as a whole and utilizes posture, cranial function, emotional release and sensory/proprioceptive mapping to pick up where he found traditional pediatric physical therapy left off. A large majority of this new discovery came about as a result of pediatric therapists coming to him with questions that could only be answered through viewing an athletic adult population. In turn some of the principals of typical/ atypical development truly helped explain why some treatments for adults seemed only to have a temporary effect as well. There was an obvious gap in treatment approaches and implementation between the pediatric and orthopedic therapists.

Adam now dedicates himself to filling this gap. We believe he has something very unique and special to offer the little ones he sees. He also treats children traditionally when they don't qualify for other P.T services but his favorite way to treat is in conjunction with a traditional developmental / handling approach.

A note from Adam:
A particular passion of mine is working with children who are functional, but have sensory difficulties and coordination issues that make the physical tasks just a bit more challenging for them. I have a special love for these children because I whole heartedly believe that these extra demands have global implications on their learning and socialization. When a child cannot physically sit still for a lesson, or focus their attention because of an internal demand it is quite easy for them to shut down. Therefore I believe helping these children at a young age has a dramatic impact on their entire life and the lives of those around them. Cranial Sacral therapy has played a major role in my ability to help these children. The ability to impact lives when treating children is almost immeasurable. Where they will go and what they will do is unknown. Increasing their potential is a joy.

I have also been fortunate enough to see some very remarkable results and patterns in the autistic/pdd population. John Upledger D.O. talks about Cranial work as helping with the symptoms but not being curative. He describes the self abusive behaviors as coming back about three months after treatment. I have found that truly Autistic children (not sensory children labeled as autistic) have almost identical body patterns of tightness and restriction. I have also found that they respond very nicely to the treatment plan that Dr. Upledger outlined. I have had one deviation however. I have found in my experience thus far that at first, Cranial work gets them to their own personal best but then usually after a Somato Emotional release they can continue to improve to a whole new level of functioning and the cycle begins again on a whole new playing feild. Cranial work has been a blessing in my life that has empowered me to help hundreds of children that otherwise I do not believe I could have impacted in the same way.

The teenage years, not quite a child and yet not quite an adult.

This has been a very special age for me to treat for a long time. At first it was by default. Most pediatric therapists I knew, were not comfortable enough to deal with the orthopedic issues that arise at this age, and most orthopedic therapists feel like fish out of water with kids. Because of my background it was a perfect fit and they were referred to me on both sides of the block. I found the ability to slip freely between approaches to be remarkable. Recently, I have also notice certain changes that appear in the spirit or will of the children at this age that from a therapeutic stand point is breathtaking. Most likely due to my cranial work, but I believe this is a resource that can help these little men and women or real big kids, achieve significant results.

From time to time I am asked” couldn’t you find something to work on with every child?" or " doesn’t every child have cranial restrictions?” My answer to this is another question, "Doesn’t the very top athletes in the world still use coaches?" I see myself a coach for the game of life. My job is to make sure that the children in my care have the best advantages to function now and into the future. So, as long as I see something that can physically help the child achieve more or be more comfortable in their skin, I am happy to play my part in there development.

It should also be said that when treating children it is important that the treatment be some what fun. Some of the focused treatment time may be lost to creating play schemes but this is a trade I believe is well worth making. Children should get to be children, childhood ends very fast.

Some specific things I have seen my personal brand of cranial work make a tremendous difference with are:

Motor planning/coordination difficulties
Autistic behaviors
Arnold Chiaries
Vision Difficulties with nastagmus
Sensory Integration Issues
Tortocollis
Cerebral Palsy
Speech and relational Issues (when caused by a sphenoid rotation)
Cauda equienious ( forefoot adduction)
Postural abnormalities
TMJ dysfunction (with or without pain)
Chronic headaches beginning in early teenage years

All of the above mentioned I have personally seen specific cranial rotations and postural deviations that when relieved have a dramatic effect on the children. Also other cranial therapists report that they can help chronic ear infections with temporal bone alignment. I believe this to be true but have not yet been blessed with the opportunity to see this first hand. Headaches have always been a sub specialty of mine. Getting to treat them before a patent who is bounced around from medication to medication can make a world of difference; particularly in the early teen years. Headaches tend to plague women more than men for a number of reasons. My personal blend of cranial work, body alignment and sensory mapping I have found to be quite effective in a variety of cases and ways.

There are many other cases that I have seen and if you have any questions regarding your little one do not hesitate to call. Cranial work has helped all three of my children, and with my youngest the work was started within minutes of birth. A child is never too young to start improving their potential for the future. Only the techniques need to meet the age and condition of the body by implementing subtleties and light touch.