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Cold & Sinus Problems
Cold & Sinus Problems
I did the coolest thing on a client today. The client came in having had a cold and a sinus infection for a few weeks. The sinus infection had cleared with the antibiotics, but she still had an airy cough. My first thought when I hear this is that anterior scalene is overly tight and activating the phrenic nerve in the neck, which contracts the diaphragm, which forces air out of the lungs. She said she just could not clear the cough.
I worked on her ribs, her diaphragm, and her anterior neck (trachea shifted very far to the right when we began) before addressing her scalene muscles and her first and second ribs. Finally I began to test her head position on her neck. The right side of her head did not move superior well, while the left side did not move inferior well. I did an assessment to see where the tension on the right side was. It felt like it was in C2.
SMRT Works!
So, knowing that the dural tube attaches at C2 and C3 and on the inside of the frontal bone, I moved C2 to the right and superior, then took my other hand and placed it on the client’s forehead. I moved her frontal bone into its existing pattern. Almost immediately both began to dance. Her entire head shifted. It worked so well, I did the left. When she came out of my office she said, “wow, that was so intensely relaxing. I feel fantastic. Didn’t want to get up.” The cough was more productive and happening less, which was fantastic, but it was the head work that had both of us excited. Later in the day, I felt like I was about to get a raging headache, so I did this maneuver on myself and, damn, did it feel fantastic!
I would love to teach you this and so much more in our Advanced SMRT Head & Neck class – taught with Advanced SMRT Arm & Hand – register for one or both. These classes will be held July 19-22, 2018 in Garden City, KS. Register now!
