Clinical Somatic Education

Apr

2007

How is this different than chiropractic? [7]

By Somatics Administrator

Traditional chiropractic works to improve skeletal alignment and joint mobility to reduce pain and improve function. (Chiropractors who are "mixers" recognize the effects of emotional state and nutrition on overall health.)

Like chiropractic, Clinical Somatic Education (CSE) improves skeletal alignment and joint mobility to reduce pain and improve bodily functioning. Unlike chiropractic, Clinical Somatic Education doesn't involve manipulations or adjustments; instead, it teaches your brain to make those adjustments from within. The result is long-lasting improvements and self-sufficiency without need for indefinite (or frequent) office visits.

CSE rapidly improves muscular control and coordination -- which are brain-functions -- to get these results. Your brain controls your muscles; your muscles move your bones. So, through your muscles, your brain controls your skeletal alignment. Habitually tight muscles distort movement and cause stiffness and pain. CSE corrects muscular malfunctions that underlie pain, stiffness and skeletal misalignment. Muscles relax. Pain disappears. Movement improves.

In chiropractic, the adjustment is "done to" (or for) you. In a matter of hours or days, your brain reinstates the condition to which it has been accustomed. It counteracts the adjustment. That's the reason chiropractic adjustments don't last.

In sessions of Clinical Somatic Education, your brain learns to replace its old, restrictive ways of operating with a new, more free and balanced ways of operating. You gain more natural control of your muscles. Tight muscles relax. Spontaneous spinal self-adjustments (complete with popping) sometimes occur immediately after a procedure. As with all learning-based changes in life, the improvements you gain soon seem second-nature.

If you see a chiropractor regularly, CSE makes chiropractic adjustments easier and longer-lasting. Many problems resolve much more quickly, including those (such as migraine headaches) that have resisted various methods of treatment.

In summary, chiropractic deals primarily with the "hardware" (skeletal system); CSE deals with the "software" (brain conditioning) that controls the "hardware".

Apr

2007

How does Clinical Somatic Educaton work? [12]

By Somatics Administrator

Clinical Somatic Educators guide you through a kind of slow-motion movement maneuver (sometimes called "The Whole Body yawn") that immediately triggers a relaxation response in the involved muscles. This maneuver enables you to locate, sense, and gain control of muscles that are malfunctioning (too tight, sore, unresponsive, uncoordinated). As fatigued muscles relax, pain disappears. Mobiity improves. Paradoxically, strength also improves.

Apr

2007

What kind of conditions does Clinical Somatics resolve or help relieve? [16]

By Somatics Administrator

Disorders Helped by Somatic Education Procedures

A partial list of disorders that respond well to Clinical Somatic Education appears below. The descriptions indicate the rationale and approach used in addressing a disorder. You can expect these disorders to improve or resolve completely within a few sessions.

Clinical Somatic Educators do not diagnose "disease" conditions, but only identify muscular tension patterns that correspond to patterns of pain and/or to movement dysfunctions.

A Clinical Somatic Educator can usually predict, with a high degree of accuracy, the number of sessions needed to resolve a particular malady. If he or she feels you are not improving as expected, he or she may advise you to return to your physician for further diagnostic procedures.

Select (click on) an underlined item to learn how somatic education (and muscular functions) apply to it.

Adhesive Capsulitis

Arthritis

Back Pain

Balance problems

Dislocations, frequent

Displaced Patella

Dizziness

Foot Pain/Tired Feet

Frequent Urination

Hamstring Pulls

Headaches - migraines, tension headaches, sinus headaches

Hip Pain

Joint Pain

Knee Pain

Neck Pain

Obesity

Pain, Chronic

Pain, Migrating

Plantar Fascitis (Foot Pain)

Sacro-iliac pain

Sciatica

Scoliosis

Shoulders, tight/painful

Spinal Stenosis

Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS)

TMJ/TMD Syndrome

Uneven Leg Length

Whiplash

Apr

2007

How many Clinical Somatic Education sessions are required? [20]

By Somatics Administrator

Between two and eight sessions of Clinical Somatic Education resolve most complaints (that is, eliminate chronic pain and improve body functioning to superior levels). Each session improves how you feel and function. How many sessions you do is up to you.

Apr

2007

What are the qualifications of Clinical Somatic Educators? [24]

By Somatics Administrator

Certified Clinical Somatics practitioners (presently fewer than one hundred, worldwide) undergo a three-year course of training that includes anatomy, functional and structural kinesiology (the study of movement from within/experientially and from outside/objectively), physical evaluation, neurophysiology, and practical techniques.

Apr

2007

What does Somatics cost? [28]

By Somatics Administrator

Cost for Somatics sessions varies by practitioner, ranging from $50 (students in training) to $300 per session, depending on local economic conditions and the practitioner's services.

Apr

2007

Does insurance cover Clinical Somatic Education? [32]

By Somatics Administrator

Possibly. Insurance may cover sessions prescribed by a physician and pre-approved by the insurer. Some companies may pay for it in their Wellness plans. Regardless of whether your insurance covers Clinical Somatics, most practitioners require payment at the time of service and provide you with a "superbill" to submit to your insurance carrier for reimbursement. Ask in advance.