Eye strain resides in the nether world of healthcare. Even though patients may have vague symptoms that go unresolved with treatment, the Gillespie Approach may fill the bill.
A thirty-year-old mother presented with eye strain. When she woke up at night, she could not open her eyes right away. She also had some headaches and a stiff neck.
Her eyes also burned at times. She had consulted two eye doctors who each had suggestions that did not resolve her problem.
Upon examination, she had a zero-second brain cycle and fascial strain in her upper cervical area. She had no other lifetime trauma.
I initially thought that the eye strain, headaches, and stiff neck were all connected in the craniosacral fascial system. Most people normalize headaches and a stiff neck as just a part of life. In my world, not so.
Since the fascial web connects every cell of the body, fascial neck tightness can cause headaches and also eye strain.
During the first visit, the upper cervical tissue released very nicely. At the same time, her brain cycle opened to an amazing 100 seconds as the pressure released in and around her eyes.
During that technique it felt like the body was revisiting a cord wrap. Even the upper throat skin over the hyoid area became red like other cord-wrapped patients.
The woman had no knowledge of that phenomenon at birth. I suggested she ask her mother if that was a possibility.
If not, the Lancaster infant research showed us that the cord could create the same tightness in utero as shown on the ultrasounds. At birth, the cord was free, indicating that the fetus had worked out of it, but the fascial restriction still remained.
She reported that her eyes felt very good for a day after therapy—a positive sign. The problem returned, indicating to me there is deeper fascial strain to be addressed in future visits.
When patients with eye conditions present, please consider soft tissue birth trauma as a possible root cause of disease. Gillespie Approach Training is a great tool for your therapy toolbox.
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