Osteopathic Manipulations

I've only had osteopathic manipulation done once, and the process hurt, but there was no cracking. I was sore and felt hungover afterward for a few days. I think it could be very helpful for someone whose system is less sensitive than mine, but the adjustments were too intense for me to be able to manage it repeatedly. I never have done chiropractic care for the same reason. LLMDs have advised me that chiro and OM are too intense for many sensitive patients, and I don't know if that applies to you or not, but thought I'd mention it.

I strongly prefer craniosacral therapy and have seen a few truly great practitioners, each with different styles, to excellent effect. One has a physical therapy background and adjusts the body with gentle pressure, does particularly great work with organs and ribs, and has a wonderful sense for knowing which locations in my body need help. Another also has a physical therapy background and specializes in glymphatic (yes, I mean glymphatic, not lymphatic) drainage and the head - truly amazing how much movement I feel in my skull while she works. And the third craniosacral therapist I see has training in Ilan Lev, massage, and biodynamic craniosacral therapy: her focus is on embodiment, which is fascinating, but she will do manual manipulations as well when needed. These folks are all incredible. I describe them just to show how much craniosacral therapy can encompass, depending on the practitioner.

I am not sure the difference between osteopathic and chiropractic, but I used to go to a chiropractor. I started a few years before my Lyme symptoms went bonkers. It helped my back and general body pain tremendously. I was around 40 when I started. I knew people who went and swore by it, but I didn’t think I would benefit because I had never had a back injury or a “bad back.” Yet, if I leaned over to do something, I had to jack myself back up and had back pain after walking around the mall.

My chiropractor did crack everything. Yes, it “hurt” when it was happening, but I felt relieved afterward. He would tell me when I needed an ice pack. After he cracked everything, he would put this electrical thing on and a heat pack. I always had to tell him to turn down the electrical thing. I didn’t have any issues with the cracking. The neck cracking is my favorite part🤪! I had much more sensitivity to the electrical pads than the cracking. I started cracking my knuckles around age 4 and moved on to most of the other joints later, so joint cracking is normal and desirable to me.

I only went to one other chiropractor, who didn’t crack, so I don’t have much to compare the first chiropractor with. I would ask around to see who other people like and try one that others think is good.

I wonder if people who have had issues with cracking tensed up while it was in motion, causing muscle pain in the process. I always tried to relax as much as possible.

Post Edited (WalkingbyFaith) : 7/24/2021 8:28:14 PM (GMT-6)