"Bodywork is perfectly suited for reducing the symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). ADHD is a condition typically appearing in young children, although teenagers and adults may also be affected. Someone with ADHD has difficulty controlling their behavior and/or paying attention. It is estimated that between 3% and 5% of children have ADHD, or approximately 2 million children in the United States."

- Nicole Cutler, L.Ac.


Myofascial Release Treatment is appropriate for kids of all ages* and can improve many common childhood problems coming from restrictions in the body’s web of connective tissue.

Fascial restrictions inhibit movement, function, chemical changes, growth, and nutrition.

When traditonal therapy, surgery, and medicine have failed to give you the desired results. MFR can offer relief from:

• Asthma symptoms

• Birth trauma symptoms

• Tongue-tie issues

• Latching difficulties

• Auditory/Speech difficulties

• Pelvic imbalances

• Digestive and elimination issues

• Cervical (neck) and Neurological  (brain/head) trauma

• Lack of spirit, energy, balance

• Sensory and processing difficulties

• ADD/ADHD symptoms

MFR treatment for infants can be instant and effective.

Our youngest are new to gravity and its tension pulls. They need time and movement to adjust to their new way of being in open space. They came from a world inside a fluid bubble full of high sensation -- sound, touch, and response to what they were feeling in their mother's placenta/uterus.

The baby’s tissue quality is more that of water (the environment s/he has been living in for 9 months), therefore it is easier for the therapist, parent, or caregiver to release the connective tissue network than in an older person.

Infancy and youth are ideal times to correct structural imbalances. Speech difficulties, leg length discrepancies, twisted spines, cervical issues, pelvic imbalances, or trauma due to delivery and surgery can all be treated through MFR.

Young children are usually receptive to the “play aspect” that can be incorporated into MFR therapy through the use of toys, balls, and different "unwinding" body positions.

Speech and Children

MFR addresses the structure of the body, opening up restrictions in the throat, thorax, and pelvis that may be inhibiting the flow of sound through the throat. There can also be an EMOTIONAL component to lack of speech, which many times this comes up organically through the MFR treatment.

Our current "speech therapy system" focuses on behavior modification and practicing speech patterns. Although this can be effective, it is incomplete if the structure that the sound is moving through has not released and opened up for sound travel. The process would move much faster if there was a structural release component to the therapy, such as Myofascial Release.

Social Conditioning as a Factor

Another factor in working with young children is the ease of releasing tissue due to lack of social conditioning.

Adults have learned for years how to supress their physical actions and emotional responses to the world, as well as restricting themselves based on social customs. Our youth have learned less of this due to their short time here.

As children age into adolescence and adulthood, we all learn ways of being that are acceptable in society; we stop being authentic with our feelings and reactions to life around us. These learned inhibitions create stress and contracted holding patterns; these patterns change our tissue matrix causing fascial restrictions, but these can easily be released through a series of MFR treatments.

For further reference, read this explanatory article by John F. Barnes, PT:

"Myofascial release can produce consistent results in children suffering with orthopedic problems, scoliosis, birthing injuries, head trauma, cerebral palsy and other neurological and movement dysfunctions . . . MORE

* Sessions are also available for parents and caregivers to learn simple home therapy techniques to keep your sessions going.

 


A Recommendation from Sarah Borda, LMT, BCTMB
Nancy Tsen is a registered nurse with years of experience in newborn units and a Certified Lactation Consultant. Her business, Cradle Me Lactation, is based in Long Valley, NJ, and we support each other in our mission to serve babies and families when it comes to breastfeeding.






"For it is the movements of our bodies and our love for learning that create strong foundational neurological pathways that free the mind for reading, writing, spelling, mathematics, problem solving, and most importantly, creative and imaginative thinking.

- Susan R. Johnson, MD, FAAP,
YOU & YOUR CHILDREN
The Development of Balance and Proprioceptive Systems