Immediate Relief from Ear Pain: How Craniosacral Therapy Helped Restore Homeostasis

A former patient wrote to me yesterday:

“Hi Dr. Feldman,

My husband is having a lot of pain in his ears. The doctor said there is fluid. It’s a condition that develops when the Eustachian tubes can’t drain properly because of infection or inflammation, causing hearing problems and pressure.

We are attending our daughter’s wedding tomorrow. Is there any way you could accommodate him today? I know it’s very short notice, but music is so painful for him right now, and I want him to be able to enjoy the wedding.

Thank you.”

When he arrived, I found the temporal bones of his cranium to be completely locked up, stuck in internal rotation.

Instead of moving freely, like a gate that can swing open and closed with ease, they had become fixed and restricted.

His right occiput-atlas junction was also compressed.

The body is remarkably intelligent. When movement is restricted, symptoms often appear. Pressure builds, function becomes compromised and the system begins to lose its ability to adapt.

In the course of the session, normal physiological movement gradually returned. The cranial rhythm became palpable once again.

What a pleasure it is to witness a nervous system finding its way back Homeostasis. No force was required. No manipulation. No medical intervention. Only patience,  listening and creating the conditions in which the body could perceive itself more clearly.

This is one of the things I continue to find most remarkable about the work. The body is always striving toward homeostasis. It is always seeking balance, organization, and efficient function.

Our task is not to fix it. Our task is to listen carefully enough that the nervous system can recognize what it is doing and rediscover options that had been temporarily lost.

Sometimes that process takes time and sometimes it happens quickly.

In this case, a man arrived unable to imagine enjoying his daughter’s wedding the next day because of the pain in his ears. He left comfortable, relaxed, and able to hear without distress.

The body knows how to heal. Often, it simply needs the opportunity.