Dublin Meeting

Dublin Meeting - THE PERRIN  TECHNIQUE

Saturday 8th May at 2.30pm in Carmichael House,
North Brunswick Street, Dublin 7.

Andrew Smith, therapist at the Willows Clinic www.willowsclinic.com Glasnevin, Dublin, will give a talk on the benefits of The Perrin Technique for those with ME/CFS.

The Perrin Technique www.theperrinclinic.com is based on Dr Raymond Perrin's theory that different stress factors whether physical, allergies, emotional or infections lead to an overstrain of the sympathetic nervous system. Further investigation has led to a probable cause of this nervous system overload being a build up of toxins in the fluid around the brain and the spinal cord. Some of the poisons caused by infection or inflammation in the head or spine flow through perforations in a bony plate (the cribriform plate) just above the nasal sinuses into the lymph ducts of the face and neck. The toxins are also meant to drain down the spinal cord and out into the lymph ducts lying along the spine. In ME/CFS these normal drainage points are congested.

The Perrin Technique of Treating CFS ME

The sympathetic nervous system spreads throughout the entire body affecting every type of tissue, but more importantly receiving messages from all the tissues e.g. skin, muscle, blood vessel, gland, lymph vessel etc. The latter forms an important network of small channels carrying lymph, which is a transparent bodily fluid collected from all tissues and eventually returned to the blood. The lymphatic system is basically a secondary waste disposal unit within the body which flushes out the waste products of the cells and foreign bodies that are toxic to us. The fluid motility in the lymph is helped by pressure from the blood flow in the surrounding blood vessels, and so the lymphatic tissue will be engorged with fluid if the blood circulation is not working properly. The sympathetic nerves also have been found to control a pump mechanism within the main drainage of the lymphatic system which becomes disturbed in ME/CFS. The resultant backflow further engorges the lymphatic vessels, especially in the chest and neck.

The Perrin Technique is an osteopathic approach that manually stimulates the fluid motion around the brain and spinal cord. Manipulation of the spine further aids drainage of these toxins out of the cerebrospinal fluid. Massage of the soft tissues in the head, neck, back and chest direct all the toxins out of the lymphatic system and into the blood, where they are eventually detoxified in the liver.

Eventually with no poisons affecting the brain, the sympathetic nervous system begins to function correctly, and providing the patients do not overstrain themselves their symptoms should gradually improve and in time some patients become totally symptom free.

Dr Perrin is not a medical doctor but gained a PhD for his work on ME and he believes that the condition is caused by the body's inability to rid itself of harmful organisms and chemicals, including bacteria, viruses and environmental pollutants. He states that his massage techniques stimulate the lymphatic system - the network of vessels that carry infection fighting cells round the body and remove foreign bodies - to drain these toxins away.
According to Dr Perrin, ME occurs when the body's nervous system is put under stress, causing the lymphatic system, which it controls, to work less efficiently. The stress may be caused by a physical problem, such as back strain or trauma; by environmental factors such as pollution or by an emotional upset such as a bereavement.

Therapist Andrew Smith has been trained and licensed to offer the Perrin Technique at the Willows Clinic, and as far as we can determine, is the only therapist in Ireland presently who is trained in the Perrin Technique.

See map below for directions to Carmichael House –