First session - 20/02/2013
Our first IMS lecture!
It is a small class with only about 12 or so students and 3 tutors so that we have lots of guidance and feedback, which is great. We start with palpating bone, fluid and fascia on our partners' forearms and I have one of those rare revelatory moments when I suddenly feel like I'm palpating an inflated washing up glove - it's incredible! According to the tutor this would imply that I am more adept at palpating fluid than say bone or fascia and that everyone has the capacity to feel some substances better than others.
Working in pairs we are guided to palpate the movement available at the cranium.
I really like our tutor's analogy of standing in the sea with 2 floats beneath your palms and that the motion of the waves is ismilar to the cranial rhythm, it really helps me with my palpation.
Overally I really enjoyed this class as much as I thought I would.
It is a small class with only about 12 or so students and 3 tutors so that we have lots of guidance and feedback, which is great. We start with palpating bone, fluid and fascia on our partners' forearms and I have one of those rare revelatory moments when I suddenly feel like I'm palpating an inflated washing up glove - it's incredible! According to the tutor this would imply that I am more adept at palpating fluid than say bone or fascia and that everyone has the capacity to feel some substances better than others.
Working in pairs we are guided to palpate the movement available at the cranium.
I really like our tutor's analogy of standing in the sea with 2 floats beneath your palms and that the motion of the waves is ismilar to the cranial rhythm, it really helps me with my palpation.
Overally I really enjoyed this class as much as I thought I would.
Second session - 06/03/2013
Today's session focused on finding patterns of displacement within the cranium - known as directional strains. We were encouraged to palpate the pair of patterns and find the middle or balanced ground and bring about a still point, before re-establishing the fluid movement.
Third Session - 20/3/2013
"Sick tissues don't make good connections" Rollin Becker
Today we focused on CV4 technique and locating balance tension between C1 and the occiput.
The CV4 technique involves compresion of the 4th ventricle and would be employed in "sick" tissues where you may not be able to feel a directional strain. The contact points are the thenar eminences medial to the occipitomastoid sutures. I found this a more difficult technique to palpate than the usual or previous lateral head hold and it was not easy to feel a pattern. Our tutor talked about limiting extension and holding the pattern until it came to a still point but again I was not able to paplate this very easily. Maybe this is because it's not possible to palpate motion at the 4th ventricle, maybe it's because there is no motion to palpate or maybe it is because it is the end of term and our palpation skills have already left for Easter holiday. I also felt quite rushed with this technique and I didn't feel I was allowed enough time to explore or just sit and palpate without having to "make a change". The problem with having fortnightly breaks between the IMS sessions is that it takes quite a long time to re-establish the basics at the beginning of each class. I'm sure that problem would be negated with more practice although time for IMS practice has been very limited recently with the CCAs only just being completed.
The second technique we covered today was finding balance tension between the C1 and the occiput - palpating the OA joints near the posterior arch of the atlas on the articular pillars. Again I'm not really sure how much of this technique I completely felt and what change I was making. To some degree it did seem like I was just doing an extended inhibition technique to the sub-occipital muscles. That being said it felt nice having this technique done and I think it would also be a good technique to use in clinic to make an effective change.
Today we focused on CV4 technique and locating balance tension between C1 and the occiput.
The CV4 technique involves compresion of the 4th ventricle and would be employed in "sick" tissues where you may not be able to feel a directional strain. The contact points are the thenar eminences medial to the occipitomastoid sutures. I found this a more difficult technique to palpate than the usual or previous lateral head hold and it was not easy to feel a pattern. Our tutor talked about limiting extension and holding the pattern until it came to a still point but again I was not able to paplate this very easily. Maybe this is because it's not possible to palpate motion at the 4th ventricle, maybe it's because there is no motion to palpate or maybe it is because it is the end of term and our palpation skills have already left for Easter holiday. I also felt quite rushed with this technique and I didn't feel I was allowed enough time to explore or just sit and palpate without having to "make a change". The problem with having fortnightly breaks between the IMS sessions is that it takes quite a long time to re-establish the basics at the beginning of each class. I'm sure that problem would be negated with more practice although time for IMS practice has been very limited recently with the CCAs only just being completed.
The second technique we covered today was finding balance tension between the C1 and the occiput - palpating the OA joints near the posterior arch of the atlas on the articular pillars. Again I'm not really sure how much of this technique I completely felt and what change I was making. To some degree it did seem like I was just doing an extended inhibition technique to the sub-occipital muscles. That being said it felt nice having this technique done and I think it would also be a good technique to use in clinic to make an effective change.
Cranial Technique in Clinic
I have not used cranial technique in clinic as much as I would have liked to, mostly because it takes me so long to palpate the movement that I feel my patients might become impatient and frustrated. Also, the majority of my patients currently respond well to structural and other techniques so I do not want to upset the current treatment plans.
One patient that I have used cranial techniques on however is a patient that I have with cerebal palsy. Together with Mr Spencer I used a CV4 technique. Due to the amount of involuntary movement with this patient I found it very hard to palpate the rhythm however there did seem to be a still point and the patient said it felt like his head was moving from side to side (which it wasn't!). I really want to practice my cranial technique more on patients and can't wait to undergo more training once I'm qualified.
One patient that I have used cranial techniques on however is a patient that I have with cerebal palsy. Together with Mr Spencer I used a CV4 technique. Due to the amount of involuntary movement with this patient I found it very hard to palpate the rhythm however there did seem to be a still point and the patient said it felt like his head was moving from side to side (which it wasn't!). I really want to practice my cranial technique more on patients and can't wait to undergo more training once I'm qualified.