The history of sensory integration therapy rests in the field of occupational therapy. Based upon the extensive theory and research of A. Jean Ayres, PhD, OTR, this approach is evidenced-based and well-grounded in neurological sciences. Many therapists have contributed to the growing science over the past fifty-sixty years through sound research as well as a wealth of clinical practice.
One problem with this approach is the assumption that all sensory organs and receptors, and sensory pathways, are intact and send signals without structural resistance or hinderance. With the gift of craniosacral therapy by John E. Upledger, DO, OMM, a parallel universe to allopathic medicine opened up for American allied health practitioners. (Pediatric occupational and physical therapists). That world is osteopathic medicine. First developed during the 1860s, Andrew Taylor Still, M.D., D.O. pioneered both a philosophy and treatment approach under the concept of wellness. Dr. Still recognized then that giving medicines for illness did not help a body restore health. This process of regaining health, he observed, occurred from within the person through self-correcting mechanisms when given supportive treatments.
Many modern-day bodywork methods can be traced back to osteopathic principles over the past hundred years. Craniosacral therapy, myofascial release, visceral maneuvers, lymphatic drainage massage, and other soft tissue release techniques are some of the approaches falling under the category of bodywork. Bodywork practices are usually an eclectic combination of a practitioner’s interest and needs of their practice population. Some practitioners preferred to remain pure to one approach.
Back to the topic of sensory wellness, bodywork gives well-defined palpation skill training to discover areas of tension, tightness, stagnation, lack of tissue ease, and other sites within the body that are less than optimal in motility and mobility. Bodywork for Sensory Integration is a book that assembles over 25 years of clinical practice and observations applying the bodywork methods mentioned above to a population of children (and adults) with sensory processing challenges and neurodiversity.
Based on ~25,000 patient encounters, we discovered that sensory integration theory needs to expand the scope of interpreting behaviors of sensory registration and hyper-reactivity as a centrally controlled process (within the brain).
Recent volumes of research into the existence the whole-body, singular organ of FASCIA has expanded our understanding of sensations at the cellular level. Fascia is now considered a sensory organ, the largest sensory organ in the body. Fascia retracts and expands within autonomic nervous system adjustments for
homeostasis. All structures are surrounded and suspended by fascia, including blood vessels. The whole-body fascia network contains over 250 million nerve endings (more than skin). Fascia plays a major role in proprioception and nociception at the sensory receptor cell level. When blood vessels constrict or dilate, they express the ANS function. It is reasonable to assume it is fascia that is constricting or dilating at speeds far faster than nerve conduction. The image to the left is a mass of arteries suspended within layers of fascia (connective tissue). The walls of arteries is comprised of 2-3 separate layers of continuous fascia from that suspending field. Tension, tone, and interorception are rest within these cellular fields....ultimately being a major background sensory regulation structure. Compressed body parts that unresolved, inflammed tissue restricted, or trauma memories effecting tissue reactions play a role in sensory wellness.
Bodywork methods now have a roadmap, through this book, for how to help children and adults struggling with sensory integration and sensory wellness. Behaviors often considered as “sensory-based” may be maladaptations to structural issues often retained from birthing, in utero positioning, and early childhood traumas, illness, or injuries. Skilled palpation can easily make these discoveries, and with well-trained hands, treat sensory structures directly to assist self-correction of local and regional ANS reactions.
In a era where therapists have great pressure and demand to do more with less time, resources, and budgets….finding more effective treatments is crucial. I stumbled upon craniosacral therapy and after only the first level of training started observing remarkable changes in my clients. I wrote this series of books to share with colleagues and parents to push the envelope of truly being wholistic. Structural medicine is a third option to answer the question “Is it Sensory or Is it Behavior?”
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