Craniosacral Case Study

Here follows just one example of how CST helped a woman after suffering from a head injury.

Client

Female in her late 50s presenting with anosmia (loss of smell), which came on after a head injury, and Hashimoto’s Hypothyroidism.

History of trauma

A year before her first Craniosacral Therapy (CST) treatment, the client was visiting her son and slipped outside his house. She slipped while walking down a step and fell backwards, striking the back of her head on the step. She was unconscious for a few moments, during which time she could hear only. After regaining consciousness, she went to hospital and received stitches in the back of her head where it was cut from the step. That same day, she became aware that she could no longer taste nor smell.

The client’s anosmia persisted and she tested her sense of smell daily, with no improvement. She did not seek treatment until I approached her and suggested CST.

Aside from the physical trauma experienced, the following other factors were at play:

• She had been recently retrenched (from corporate) before the event.
• She was studying at the time and the accident prevented her from continuing her studies.
• She is an aromatherapist by passion, so the loss of smell had an emotional aspect to it.

Session progression

The client was well resourced and her body was responsive to cranial touch.
At the first session, the client experienced a sense of draining down the nose and throat, as well as activation in her thyroid area. She also felt a welling up of emotion, which soon subsided. At the end of the session, she reported an electric-like tingle across her skin.

She came back 1 week later with positive results. She was able to smell jasmine, cat food, fertiliser and dog odour. She also experienced increased energy and normalised body temperature (both of which implied improvement of her Hashimoto’s).

During her second session, she felt intense, vice-like pressure inside her head, like a vice grip. She also reported that it felt that her maxilla was in the way and that her back teeth were out of place. There was again clearing and release felt in the sinuses.

She came back the following week with more improvements. She retained the previously regained smells, and added rosemary, lavendar, thyme, basil, mint, rose and plectranthus (garden plant). She also regained taste of grape, cherry, alcohol, curry and tabasco. She was not able to track her temperature.

During her third session, her sinuses continued to clear and her breathing became easier. Again, she experienced the vice-like pressure inside her head and that her jaw was felt to realign to a better position. After the session, she conveyed that there was a point when she was “awake, yet snoring” and found this an interesting state of consciousness.

The client has been unable to continue treatment on a weekly basis, but reported that she regained smell of peppermint, ylang ylang, petitgrain and vetiver, and regained taste of onion, green beans, red pepper and chocolate.