A former student from a 2000 Gillespie Approach Training brought her 13-year-old son to me recently for therapy. He has had migraines for six years with neck pain, pollen allergies, and speech issues.
He was taking allergy and migraine medication. His mother had severe back labor in a natural hospital birth. I have found over the years that back labor can create considerable strain for the fetus. If mom was in terrible pain for hours, I cannot imagine what the fetus felt and how its fascial web responded in restriction.
He cried a lot as a baby and did not start talking until three, but only after speech therapy. My heart goes out to these headache children. When I had my headaches in the 1970s, they “only” lasted a few years. I cannot begin to wrap my head around a lifetime of head pain.
The first visit focused on his neck strain. He responded well when his brain cycle opened from zero seconds to 90 seconds. The second visit centered around his throat. When his severe deep fascial strain started to release here, his brain cycle further opened beautifully to 150 seconds.
In reviewing this case he was not the classical baby with swallowing and breathing issues from throat strain. But he did present later as a toddler with speech issues, which are not fully resolved to the present day.
In the Gillespie Approach we are always trying to find the cause of the problem. We are not trying to manage or put a Band-Aid on it. I am betting that the current throat strain, pulling hard into his cranium, is at the root of his migraine headaches. This work is best done during the first day of life by preventing this unhappy scenario.
Pediatricians need to understand that fascia is a big deal in their world. They need to step outside their technology, drug, and surgery box. They need to open to the structural healing aspects of infants and children. They need to realize that happy babies and children are the rule, not the exception.
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