This blog has been seriously neglected! Call it hibernation, call it just going with the flow, and the flow did not involve the blog. So now with Spring bursting out I am re-energised and more focused, and wanting to communicate.
Now I am in the midst of organising another CLRT seminar for London and Scotland in June. The difference is that this time I have great feedback from those of you who now regularly use Cranial Laser Reflex Technique. So its not just how others in the US and the rest of the world use it, its how WE respond. It shouldn't matter but it does, when it comes to the differences between how we express ourselves.
So here is the experience of Surrey osteopath, Catrin Mear (Bsc Ost Hons), for those of you considering learning this new technique. When it comes to lasers, Dr Wise will be selling at the seminar relatively inexpensive single diode laser pens.
'I use CLRT during almost every treatment. From an osteopathic perspective, it can help me in preparing the tissues before doing an adjustment and it also useful for very acutely inflamed areas, where even gentle soft tissue work would be unbearable initially.
I find it really good for most areas of the spine. It seems to be effective for some muscle groups more than others but used correctly you can usually reduce muscular pain by about 50%. Using CLRT on the sacroiliac reflex points round the ears is amazing because it can instantly address a pelvic torsion and relieve a lot of pain around the sacroiliac joints. In the same way, it can be great for reducing pain and tension in the shoulder area particularly in the difficult to reach areas of the rotator cuff.
Interestingly it can be useful to test the diagnosis I have made from my osteopathic examination, in terms of whether the tender points on the head correlate with where I think the lesion is. I have obviously not done any evidence base research but it seems to correlate about 95% of the time. When it doesn’t it often encourages me to recheck and re-evaluate my hypothesis and search around for something else.
I see CRLT as another useful tool in my technique repertoire, which is very quick to use and easy to integrate with osteopathic practice. It often amazes the patients as well as me. I have only come across two patients who were not comfortable with it and as with any treatment technique who did not want it. One had had a bad experience with the medical profession, and another was worried that it would interfere with her hearing aid. Apart from that it is painless and there seem to be no side effects therefore most patients have been happy to experience it as part of their treatment.
Another of the major benefits of CLRT from the point of view of the practitioner’s body, is the saving of the hands as doing lots of soft tissue work can be hard on the hands. I also self treat with CLRT to keep things at bay until I get treatment from an osteopathic colleague.
It does feel a bit strange at first and I felt a bit detached because as an osteopath I am not very used to using a technological implement, however my palpatory skill as an osteopath is to my advantage as it allow me to quickly assess the tender reflex points and the required change in the area being treated. Also within minutes you have your hands free to be able to get back to your more typical osteopathic approach to treatment!'
