Research, Articles & Case Studies

Abstract 

Background: Pelvic girdle pain (PGP) affects 50% of pregnant women worldwide. PGP increases with advancing pregnancy with considerable impact on quality oflife, interfering with sleep, daily activities, work, motherhood and close interpersonal relationships. The use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is increasingly prevalent among pregnant women, particularly for pregnancy-induced back pain. Craniosacral treatment (CST) is a CAM that has shown symptom relieving effects in pregnancy-related back pain. The purpose of this study was to describe women's experiences of the treatment. 

Methods: Twenty-seven women receiving CST plus standard treatment (ST) were interviewed following 3 of5 treatments with CST by two qualified and experienced CST practitioners. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. 

Results: The experience of CST by pregnant women diagnosed with severe PGP can be described in three categories: An unfamiliar and different treatment method; description of treatment effects, and regaining a personal and social life. 

Women described how CST provided them with new awareness of their widespread muscle tension. They told of how they experienced increased body awareness, distraction from pain, relaxation and calm, and feelings of security and optimism. These factors may have helped them actively improve posture and lower muscle tension thereby relieving the symptoms of PGP. 

Conclusions: The present study reports a contextual interpretation of previously published quantitative data, as it provides a deeper understanding of total symptom relief from PGP during pregnancy. 

Fascia – what a fascinating tissue!

Also known as dense irregularconnective tissue, this tissue surrounds and connects every muscle, even the tiniest myofibril, and every single organ of the body.

It forms a true continuity throughout our whole body. Fascia has been shown to be an important element in our posture and movement organization. It is often referred to as our organ of form (Varela & Frenk 1987, Garfin et al.1981). Many approaches to manual therapy focus their treatment on the fascia. They claim to alter either thedensity, tonus, viscosity or arrangement of fascia through the application of manual pressure.

Abstract: According to the traditional understanding of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) physiology, the majority of CSF is produced by the choroid plexus, circulates through the ventricles, the cisterns, and the subarachnoid space to be absorbed into the blood by the arachnoid villi. This review surveys key developments leading to the traditional concept. Challenging this concept are novel insights utilizing molecular and cellular biology as well as neuroimaging, which indicate that CSF physiology may be much more complex than previously believed. The CSF circulation comprises not only a directed flow of CSF, but in addition a pulsatile to and fro movement throughout the entire brain with local fluid exchange between blood, interstitial fluid, and CSF. Astrocytes, aquaporins, and other membrane transporters are key elements in brain water and CSF homeostasis. A continuous bidirectional fluid exchange at the blood brain barrier produces flow rates, which exceed the choroidal CSF production rate by far. The CSF circulation around blood vessels penetrating from the subarachnoid space into the Virchow Robin spaces provides both a drainage pathway for the clearance of waste molecules from the brain and a site for the interaction of the systemic immune system with that of the brain. Important physiological functions, for example the regeneration of the brain during sleep, may depend on CSF circulation.