I celebrate the relief that my clients get, even the short windows of 2 to 3 days are proof that the body can change. My blog from earlier this spring, Choose Best Results at CMMT discusses real steps my clients and I have taken to successfully keep the results and improvements that Osteopathic Manual Therapy can achieve. But I have still been looking for things that I can bring to the table for sustained improvements: Enter Dr. Raymond Perrin, D.O. PhD. and more than 30-years' work including medical science research and clinical trials that have been confirmed this year, again, by 3rd-party researchers and improved imaging of the glymphatic drainage system of the central nervous system.
Why does the pain come back? "Raymond Perrin’s research at the University of Salford in conjunction with the University of Manchester, coupled with the hundreds of successful clinical case studies and the latest findings in neurophysiology, has provided strong evidence that Chronic Fatigue Syndrome /Myalgic Encephalomyelitis involves a disturbance of the drainage of toxins from the brain and muscles. These poisons often enter the body in the form of viruses, bacteria and other microbes, parasitic infection or due to environmental toxins such as pesticides.
"However, many toxins are simply an overproduction of chemicals naturally produced within the body to help the immune system with fighting infections, inflammation and stress. Constant physical and emotional stress can lead to this type of overproduction.
"The excess of some toxins in the brain and spinal cord should drain out into lymph vessels and be broken down by the body’s lymphatic system and liver. CFS/ME patients have a reversed drainage that leads to toxins building up in the central nervous system causing the dysfunction of different parts of the brain and spinal cord. This explains the many different symptoms complained of by CFS/ME patients."
When I licensed as a Perrin Technique Practitioner this September, I was honestly a bit dismayed to learn that this description had anything to do with my own delayed onset muscle pain that can tip me into days of migraines, or the digestion issues I'm navigating as I work for better health and sleep. In fact, Dr. Perrin's continuing research has now successfully been applied to Long Covid and Fibromyalgia, as well.
I definitely want to be the healthy one, so I'm all in. In fact, I've spent the last 7 weeks diligently testing his protocols to ensure that I'm writing from experience. NOPE, I'm not cured YET. But I feel and trust the changes. I recognize Perrin's work as firmly based on the osteopathic principles I've studied over the last four years--in fact, maintenance session of Perrin Technique includes both osteopathic and cranial sacral work. It will be worth a couple of years focus rewarded by less frequent interventions as my quarterly progress is monitored to reach the "Discharged" status achieved by others who have chosen this tool for better health.
I'm grateful that Perrin's protocols require me to do work at home, and I have been impressed with the syphon effect that he attains. It aligns with the Upper Body Muscle Reset Blog and the Functional Range Conditioning featured in the Spring into Active Living with Strength also heavily researched for its effect in healing joints.
To this mix of maintenance tools, Dr. Perrin adds in thrice daily Flexibility and Mobility Exercises as well as Breathing Exercises. His recent research shows that his bedtime routine can increase Delta Wave Sleep by a full hour. That is one of my favorite immediate rewards. I'm also impressed by the way the simple exercises both challenge and improve the ribcage or thoracic function that is vital in lymph drainage even from the feet and legs.
This syphon effect of lymph motility is sustained with a few minutes of self-massage, contrast bathing--hot and cold packs for 10 minutes--and active head rest--supporting your own best cranial sacral fluid movement. Dry brushing with large Makeup brushes works for the self-massage 5 of the 6 days at home. While skin-on-skin self or partnered massage is best done at least once a week at home to better engage and monitor improvement. For those looking to strengthen hypermobile necks and lower backs, or those limited from crawling on the ground, Dr. Perrin's website also offers solutions on his Self Help Guide page.
Instead of adding one more thing into my schedule with his regimen, I use up to the first part of my sleep time to complete this important routine. The support of deep sleep is worth the later sleep start. And, after doing this routine only a week, I realized that it was not the bed that was uncomfortable: it was muscle stress that I had finally slowed down enough to feel and now have reduced with this regimen.
According to ScienceDirect.com, "Delta waves are the slowest recorded brain waves in human beings. They are found most often in infants and young children and are associated with the deepest levels of relaxation and restorative, healing sleep. Reduced Delta is prominently seen in brain injuries, learning problems, inability to think, and severe ADHD. If this wave is suppressed, it leads to an inability to rejuvenate the body and revitalize the brain, and poor sleep. Adequate production of delta waves helps us feel completely rejuvenated and promotes the immune system, natural healing, and restorative/deep sleep." Better sleep means better health. This work has reconnected my head to my actual energy level. I'm learning to do less in the day so that I can reserve my energy for more healing.
The body represents the ultimate long game. Getting past the popular headlines of--Have the perfect body in 30 days by starving yourself--to the reality of needing to create a lifestyle of predictable safety that includes rest for the body to both heal and release inflammation that those protective pounds is accelerated with Perrin's effect on Lipedema (fat swelling) and Lymphedema (lymph swelling). The Lipedema Project does a marvelous job in supporting people through their journey. Here, you can learn more about assessing one's exposure to lipedema and lymphedema or to link into their support systems.
Setting Expectations: The Perrin Technique is medical massage, skin-on-skin--chest up, spine up, head and neck down with almond or another naturally hypoallergenic oil. The self-help or at-home program is vital in normalizing the touch and maintaining the siphon effect of lymph drainage. Perrin explains, "The treatment aims at manually stimulating the drainage of the offending toxins from the central nervous system with gentle stroking towards both collar bones where the lymph drains into larger veins eventually reaching the liver. Here, the poisons are finally rendered harmless. Gentle manual treatment (skin on skin, medical massage of the chest up, spine up, head and neck down to the cranium and spine with relaxation of the surrounding muscles together with specific lymphatic drainage techniques eventually improve the health and function of the body as a whole." Correcting the flow of the lymphatics means healthy drainage and a clear path for inflammation to exit the body.
Like any relaxation massage, Perrin's work can initiate the parasympathetic nervous system response of healing in the body and most efficiently targets the necessary lymph movement to reset the body for independence over time. As the picture illustrates, only 10-20 lymph nodes exist in the inguinal area. Twenty to 30 are found through the abdomen, while the chest and neck area count increases to 200-300. Additional illustrations can be found at Knitive.
But HOW can I know if Perrin's work fits my needs? Before one invests in a session, Perrin's research includes research-based questionnaires identifying patterns of dysfunction that are served by his work. This detailed survey is completed online. The second portion of the assessment is in person and hands-on, instructing the client in ways to support their progress and prepare for their first appointment. The data points created by the survey then is fed into a table that predicts the timeframe of services needed on a decreasing frequency with progress. For example, a person scoring a 5.5 on the 10-point scale indicating full correction of lymphatic flow can expect
Weekly clinic sessions for 12 weeks with reassessment at the end of each quarter.
With improvement to a score of 6, these visits reduce to every other week.
A score of 7 merits only one appointment every 3 weeks.
A score of 8 can expect only one appointment every 4 weeks. At-home work likewise decreases.
A score of 9 needs only one quarterly in-office visit.
A score of 10 releases the client from in-office lymphatic massage to independence.
Because of the initial frequency required by this work, CMMT is offering a discount for Perrin appointments. While clients can use all packages for payment, the Promo Code: Perrin Discount to save $25 for each session. Additionally, clients can purchase an 8-session package for Perrin sessions, only. Each session naturally includes some Osteopathic Interventions as well as Cranial Sacral work to ensure your best progress.
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