How Myofascial Therapy Changed My Daughter’s Life

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The longer I’m a mom/the more kids I add to this world, the more I lean further away from western medicine and more towards looking at mind and body as one working entity. I guess I’m what some might call a bit of a hippie mom. But before you place me in that category, hear me out. What I’m about to tell you is not voodoo; this is real science. Natural science because the two are not mutually exclusive.

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Photo cred: Aliciana Bowers Photography

I know I probably lost most of you at “natural science,” but what if I told you that your breastfeeding struggles may go beyond poor latch and low supply? What if I told you there is a better, easier, cheaper solution to your baby’s flat head? Or that I found someone who can calm your fussy, anxious, and uptight baby?

When my daughter was born, she was quite a trip. She screamed in her car seat, screamed during tummy time, screamed on her back, screamed . . . well basically all the time. I’ll never forget one frozen February day when she screamed at my nipples for six-plus hours straight.

My daughter was not my first baby rodeo, so I wasn’t surprised by the difficulty of newbornhood, but I knew there was more to her screaming than age.

After struggling with supply issues and painful nursing from month two to three, I decided to see a special lactation consultant about Nora’s lip tie. During our appointment the LC discovered that while her lip tie was stretchy, she had a severe and tight tongue-tie that went undiagnosed by my midwife because of the way Nora curled under the tip of her tongue. Sneaky little snake. My LC provided me with a thorough list of professionals in our area who she recommended to help with her tie and tension throughout her body. The list included dentists, chiropractors, a myofascial and occupational therapist.

For those of you unfamiliar, myofascial therapy is a chiropractic-like therapy that focuses on applying gentle pressure to muscles where tightness (a.k.a. tension) is restricting a patient from achieving flexibility and mobility. Pressure is applied until the tension releases. I am no expert in the technicalities or even the correct terminology, but I know the results I’ve seen and the transformation I’ve witnessed. Myofascial therapy saved my daughter and my relationship with her.

The First Visit

As we embarked on our adventure into Bedford, I found myself feeling quite anxious as I tried to envision what was ahead of us during our first visit with Frankie, owner of Windsong Therapy. Being friends with several of Frankie’s patients and greatest supporters, I had a little insight into how it would all go down. I knew there would be a lot of tears, especially from my dramatic bundle, but I had no idea how relieved we would both feel in the aftermath.

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Note the slight left curve at the top of her spine and the stiffness in Nora’s legs compared to the relaxed bend in her counterparts.

After hearing my concerns, Frankie began to investigate. Her first find was a small knot at the base of N’s spine, which she said, if left untreated, had the potential of turning into scoliosis. (I later confirmed this with our chiropractor.) Simultaneous gasp and sigh of relief. With light pressure applied to the knot, she began to release the tension, and then moved on. Before we left the office, Frankie placed her index finger under Nora’s tongue and held it there, whilst baby girl screamed her face off. When the tension ceased, so did the screaming.

Frankie was tender and overly encouraging throughout the entire visit. At one point, I began crying shame-filled tears for not realizing sooner how uncomfortable my little one had been. Frankie refused to let me give life to that thought, and encouraged me to focus on doing the right thing now.

By the end of the session, my once board-stiff baby was sleepy-eyed and relaxed, laying on her back, legs levitating weightlessly above her — something they had never before done. When I carefully scooped her up off the table, her body melted against mine, another first. I didn’t realize how rigid she was until I finally saw her relax.

Straighten Out

We continue to see Frankie every one to two months, which is not typical for her patients. Each visit has been different, and has brought more or less crying. While I hate hearing my sweet girl cry like FullSizeRendershe does, I know she is not in any pain, albeit discomfort. Most important, though, I know her life has drastically improved and that is worth every tear, from both of us.

Because of Frankie’s work, we were able to relieve the tension from Nora’s tongue tie without a trip to the dentist. Because of Frankie’s work, I am able to meet my breastfeeding goals and my child can meet physical milestones. Aside from our success, other patients of Frankie have seen her for a variety of ailments including flat heads and flat soft pallets. Numerous nursing relationships and thousands of dollars have been saved, and interventions, such as helmets, have been avoided because of this therapy. 

Mama, you have options. Get a second, third, fourth opinion. Search outside the box; it’s not as scary as it seems.

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Cate
Cate is a transplant from Alabama and an alum of the greatest school in the SEC (Roll Tide). She married her college sweetheart, Rob, in the summer of 2010 and together they have two adorable Texans, Elijah (2012) and Nora (2015). When she’s not momming or mom-bossing, Cate enjoys snuggling the cutest dachshund on the planet, rapping the Hamilton soundtrack, and binging old episodes of The Office. Cate has proudly called Fort Worth home since 2011 and couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.

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