Spinal Touch - Realigning the Centre of Gravity

It is well-known that bad posture can trigger various complaints with back-pain being probably the most common. What is perhaps less commonly understood is that the alignment of the spine in relation to the force of gravity has an effect on general health as well. This is one of the main premises of Spinal Touch.

From the holistic point of view the signs and symptoms of dis-ease are considered to be characteristic expressions of the organism's own effort to bring itself back to health. As well as indicating that the system is out of sync with nature's underlying laws, they also offer guidance as to the way back to health if heeded and responded to appropriately.

With Spinal Touch we specifically aim to interpret postural changes as deviations from true alignment to gravity. A precise observation of these postural changes guides the practitioner as to what is needed to facilitate realignment. Treatment is then given on the basis that appropriate adjustment made at a point of sufficiently key significance can have therapeutic ramifications throughout the whole system. As adjustment is no more than a cue for the system to restore balance itself there is no need for any forcefulness.

Most people who have experienced a good massage know that the stresses of everyday life, both physical and emotional, can cause excess tension to build up and be held in muscle tissue. Left unattended this tension in turn distorts posture and throws the body out of balance. It is at this time that the unique therapy of Spinal Touch can help. It is based on the idea that the body can be guided to realign itself with its centre of gravity so that the skeletal structure will duly begin to move back to normal. This in turn can have the effect of optimising all the functions of the body so as to bring about a general restoration of health.

Although it is best known for helping with back ailments and associated disorders, Spinal Touch can be of benefit in a far wider range of conditions. It is especially effective in conditions which are stress-related. In both its postural assessment and its treatment technique Spinal Touch has the great virtue of being so gentle and non-invasive that no physical harm can be done with it. Pregnant women and the very old and the very young can all be treated safely. While by the patient Spinal Touch is experienced as a light-touch treatment for the practitioner it is a zero-strain technique.

History

In the 1920s an enterprising engineer, John Hurley, noticing the effects of gravity on buildings, had the vision to apply his extensive knowledge of mechanical structures to the human body. Together with his wife, Helen Sanders, he developed a technique incorporating engineering principles, the laws of leverage and physiology. They became pioneers of light touch therapy, publishing their book, Aquarian Age Healing, in 1932.

Their light touch technique seemed to engage with the energy systems of the body, promoting the free flow of energy through muscles, bones and joints. In this research Hurley found that the lighter the touch, the more powerful the results. This therapy consistently showed an ability to help physical conditions which had not responded to any previous treatment.

Having studied the chiropractic methods of his day, Hurley had concluded that they did not fully take into account the mechanics of the body. He felt that chiropractors did not sufficiently address the body as a unified and complete structure. For him the centre of gravity was the key to a more holistic view.
The chiropractors taught by Hurley used his techniques with great results and good patient response. Hurley's own goal was that lay people should themselves learn and use the technique on family members, thus being empowered to preserve their own health.

Hurley died in the 1950s. During the 1960s, the technique was rediscovered by Dr La Mar Rosquist. The story he tells of his introduction to Hurley's technique concerns a young boy in his neighbourhood who had suddenly become ill with an unknown disease. The parents sought medical help but to no avail. The boy reached a point where he could no longer eat, move or even hold up his head. The best medical opinion was that he was either in the terminal stages of some form of muscular dystrophy or else it was a severe glandular problem. All opinion agreed that he had only a few weeks of life left to him. His grandmother took him to her own doctor, Dr Francis Goës, in order to make the child's last days more comfortable. Goës, a previous student of Hurley's, informed the parents that he would need to see the boy three times per week for a few months.

Rosquist observed that it was from the time of starting this course of light touch treatment that the boy started to improve. Within a few months he was actively playing with Rosquist's own children. On the strength of this case Rosquist went to meet Goës who gave him a treatment there and then. Initially Rosquist had some misgivings about its healing benefits. However, after the treatment he had sensations which seemed to him likely to result from a balancing of energy within his system (at that time he knew nothing of Hurley's work). He began to think that there might be more to the method than he had thought. In due course he went back again for treatment twice a week for fifteen months. Overall, in the process of learning the technique himself, he received 120 treatments.

Dr Goës would make graphic drawings on the palm of his hand after each treatment and explain their significance. Rosquist would later record these drawings along with an explanation of how they related to the treatment. In 1975 he put into book form all that he had learnt from Goës naming it The Encyclopedia of Spinal Touch Treatment. Thereafter he gave over five hundred seminars teaching his work, mostly in the US, UK and Japan. His own patients have included a number of film stars such as Charlton Heston, Mel Brooks and Lucille Ball. Though Rosquist's method is closely related to the original light touch therapy of Hurley, he formalised the method into a precise technique of subtle sacral movement, which he refers to as "a treatment approach correcting postural distortion through light-force muscle balancing".

The Centre of Gravity

All organised matter such as the human body has a focal point on which gravity acts - its so-called centre of gravity. The centre of gravity of the human body should ideally be located in the joint between the fifth lumbar and first sacral vertebrae. This joint is cushioned and supported by cartilage to allow a full range of easy movement. If this base plane is distorted and is not correctly aligned it will create stress in the supporting muscles. With these muscles not working evenly the pelvis itself will be out of balance.

Everything a person does is directly transmitted to his/her centre of gravity, but it is only when the body exceeds what is called its elastic limit that this becomes problematic. (The elastic limit is that point from beyond which the body will not naturally return to its normal position of rest). Suppose someone receives a sudden jerk to the neck; if this trauma exceeds the elastic limit of the body (as in whiplash injury) then, in the long run, destructive change will be reflected at the centre of gravity at the lumbo-sacral articulation. Damage from accidents, injuries and strains of all sorts become concentrated here and hence it is common for people who do heavy work to complain more of trouble in the lower back than in any part of the body.

For many years it was widely held that the lowest lumbar region is the area most in need of treatment. However, according to the principles underlying Spinal Touch treatment, it is adjustment at the sacrum which is actually of primary significance. The sacrum (literally "the sacred bone") is a peculiarly significant, and thus vulnerable, part of the human body. Being placed as it is at the centre of the skeletal structure, and acutely subjected to the force of gravity, it is prone to displacement by prolonged strain and by both physical and emotional pressures.

The Loose Link

The natural centre of gravity of the body as a whole is roughly one inch in front of the centre of gravity of the sacrum itself. The weight of the body acts down through the body's centre of gravity. To compensate for this (i.e. to allow us to stand) another force, equal and opposite, must act up through the legs into the sacrum and its centre of gravity.

It is the articulation between these two centres of gravity, called the loose link, which actually enables us to move, walk, jump and so on, smoothly without jarring and harming the spine in the process. The loose link can be seen as an evolutionary solution to the challenge of erect but mobile posture.

While this mechanism allows the body a remarkable degree of flexibility it also entails a specific associated vulnerability. It is a fact that no structure can be said to be distorted without its natural centre of gravity being dislocated and any dislocation of the body's optimum centre of gravity will disrupt the loose link in its balancing role.

The spinal column of course houses not only sensory and motor nervous tissue but is also fundamental to the autonomic nervous system which serves all the organs of the body. The consequence of misalignment at the centre of gravity can therefore have knock-on effects on the workings on virtually any organ or system and thus on health in general.

The Plumbline Cannot Lie

So the starting-point for a treatment is to use a plumbline. This, with sharp observational skills, allows the practitioner to fine-tune the treatment to the particular needs of the individual.

The practitioner's observations are focused on gravity's actual pull on the body and its consequences in the event of distortion. The practitioner looks first from the back and then from the side. In the ideal situation the plumbline should fall straight down the spine through the centre of gravity at the lumbo-sacral articulation. He/she then makes marks (in impermanent ink!) on the body to indicate the drift from optimal posture, if any. This measurement will guide the practitioner as to the direction in which the sacrum needs to move in order to correct distortion.

When we look at people's posture at the plumbline it is easy to understand why the force of gravity is considered one of the most important factors involved in health. It is rare that chronically distorted posture is not accompanied by some form of ill-health.

The Treatment

During treatment, light but very precise touch is applied to reflex points, muscle insertions and acupuncture meridians to encourage the release of tension and pain. The process begins with a light touch of the thumb at a contact point where thigh meets buttock. Based on the plumbline assessment the practitioner decides what correction is required and which contact point to use for re-alignment. Precisely directed pressure at this point achieves minute adjustments in the sacral area. This contact in maintained throughout the treatment. At the same time the other hand is used to gently "rub out" a long sequence of touch-points around the centre of gravity and up the spine and sub-occipitally.

Experience of Spinal Touch naturally varies according to the individual and the condition being treated. During treatment some people experience a mild flow of warmth or the sensation of an electrical impulse; others feel a deep relaxation to the point of going to sleep. Although the therapist is only using the fingers to re-direct the energy within, it may feel as if a therapeutic appliance is being used.

After Treatment

After around 15 to 20 minutes of treatment, the person is briefly reassessed at the plumbline. Measurable results are usually apparent after the first session. Most people feel an immediate change as tissues and muscles relax and energy flows through previously stressed areas both in the spine itself and in muscle and nerve tissue. Spinal Touch, when given correctly, assists the organism to re-direct its own energy to heal itself and it is for this reason that treatment can be said to continue even after the session itself is completed.

After re-alignment the impact of gravity, from having been in effect reinforcing distortions in the system, can now actually support an erect posture. This in part explains the frequency with which people after Spinal Touch treatment say "I feel so much lighter".

The rebalancing process involves the general relaxation and release of tension and pain. Some believe that the treatment has a subtle impact on the vortices of energy within the body (the chakras), manifesting in a regenerative effect on the whole energy field.

Where Spinal Touch Can Help

Responses to Spinal Touch vary from pain relief to complete and rapid recovery. The extent of relief or recovery itself depends on the nature of the particular complaint, the age of the patient and the length of time for which they have been suffering. In addition, account must be taken of any continuing occupational and other factors like repetitive stress etc.

Conditions which have been helped by Spinal Touch include: ankylosing spondylitis, anxiety, arthritis, asthma, back pain, balance problems, Bell's palsy, digestive problems, fatigue, frozen shoulder, headache, insomnia, jaw problems, joint pain, menstrual problems, migraines, neck pain, problems during and after pregnancy, recurrent infections, repetitive strain injury, scoliosis, sciatica, sinus problems, sports injuries, stress, tennis elbow, tension, visual disturbances, whiplash injury and many others.

There is growing evidence that Spinal Touch may be helpful in cases of female infertility where there is no apparent cause and where correction of pelvic, rib and spinal displacement may be of value.

Experience suggests that even in chronic conditions such as multiple sclerosis, relief and a degree of remission and stabilisation is possible.

In addition Spinal Touch offers a means of gauging those weaknesses in the body which predispose to illnesses of all kinds; to this extent the treatment can be called preventative, in that it can address such weaknesses before they develop more serious consequences.

It is usual for one or two treatments to be given per week depending on the severity of the condition.

Although it may seem surprising at first, once one considers the consequences of Spinal Touch treatment, it becomes clear that assisting the body to return to skeletal balance really can lead to better health.

Case Histories

S. - Female, 31 years old
Presenting complaints: irregular and protracted painful periods and backache. Has been married for 5 years and is concerned that she has never yet conceived.

Her posture is assessed at the plumbline. Her pelvis is quite twisted to one side. The primary lumbo-sacral curve is rather flat. Her spine is out of alignment. She is given a Spinal Touch treatment during which she feels tightness and soreness at various of the points worked on. Upon reassessment at the plumbline after treatment her spine is almost re-aligned and her pelvis is less twisted. However, inspection from the side shows that she still has an undue amount of forward inclination.

Some weeks later S. returns for a further treatment. She is feeling happier in herself. Her recent period lasted 6 days instead 10. Still some uterine and ovarian cramping. Cold feet. But no backache. She reports that she felt stiff for two days after the initial treatment but thereafter felt much improved.

She is assessed at the plumbline and it is found that her pelvis is only slightly twisted this time. The spine has almost true alignment to the vertical. The lumbo-sacral area shows more curvature and looks "softer".

On treatment this time there appear to be less sore or tight areas. She gets up from the couch looking appreciably relaxed and with good colour. Upon re-assessment she looks almost totally re-aligned.

At a visit the following week S. reports having felt more grounded and balanced and having slept unusually well after the previous week's treatment. Assessment this time shows that her pelvis is almost normally positioned and her spine is in alignment. Accordingly the treatment is tailored to this new state of affairs.

This was the third and last treatment for S. before her holiday abroad. Three weeks later she called to report on her progress saying that not only was she feeling very well but she was now pregnant.

J. - Female, 44 years old
Presenting complaints: severe pain in lower back, around her waist "as if someone turns a key and tightens my back". Has three slipped discs in the lumbar spine. Has some pain in the left hip shooting down to the knee. Stiffness, especially in the morning on waking up, better for walking about. Varicose veins. She is experiencing great pain even as she talks about her problems.

Assessment at the plumbline shows her left hip to be twisted backward affecting her left leg and knee. Her spine is out of alignment.

During treatment J. feels several areas to be sore and tight. By the end of treatment these areas are relaxed and the pain has gone.

Upon her return the following week, assessment clearly shows an improvement in J.s condition: the hips are less twisted while the spine is close to true alignment.

Two weeks later J. comes for further treatment having had a fall in the intervening period. This delayed the healing process. However, the slipped discs are much improved although the muscles around them have not yet fully returned to normal. Her spine his almost aligned.

After a further week J. comes for her fourth and last treatment. Assessment shows that her posture is now in healthy balance. She is given one more treatment to consolidate the improvement. In due course she reports that she is pleased to say that her back has remained good, it feels strong and has taken up horseriding again.