A Manchester-based doctor has developed a new osteopathic treatment for chronic fatigue syndrome SYLVIA THOMPSONreports
About 30 per cent of patients just need my treatment. The first few weeks are always the most trying. The worse the patient is in the early stages of treatment, the better usually it bodes for their prognosisDR RAYMOND Perrin, a Manchester-based osteopath has developed and tested a new theory which explains and treats chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).
Now licensed as the Perrin technique, the approach includes the physical diagnosis of CFS, followed by specific osteopathic treatment carried out over a period of several months.
"My theory is based on facts put together over 19 years of working with patients with CFS. I have since completed a PhD in this and carried out two clinical trials," says Dr Perrin.
His book, The Perrin Technique - How to beat chronic fatigue syndrome/ME (Hammersmith Press) has sold more than 3,000 copies since it was published last June.
Dr Perrin's research began when he discovered that there was a relationship between the mechanical strain on the thoracic spine and CFS.
"I was treating a cyclist with lower- and upper-back problems who also suffered from CFS. Following the treatment, he told me that his symptoms of CFS had cleared up," he explains.
Therein followed years of research into muscle function and fatigue and the role of the lymphatic system in draining toxins from the body and, more specifically, from the central nervous system (the brain and spine).
Dr Perrin's second clinical trial found strong evidence to suggest that an important component of CFS involves a disturbance of the lymphatic drainage of the brain and the muscles.
"I discovered that in patients with CFS, the lymph fluid is pushed in the wrong direction and, rather than draining away from the brain into drainage points in the two large veins below the collar bone and then on to the liver, the lymph fluid is pushed backwards, leading to further build up of toxins in the body," he explains.
"This build-up then puts pressure on the sympathetic nervous system which controls a range of automatic responses in the body, including regulation of blood flow and hormones."
This so-called back flow of lymphatic drainage has been identified on photographs in the form of varicose lymphatic vessels in a research project at Salford University in England. "A trained practitioner can feel the disturbance of the cranial rhythm in CFS patients," he explains.
Although Dr Perrin has found plenty of clinical evidence to validate this ground-breaking discovery of a physical symptom of CFS, he says that the cause of CFS is still dependent on a number of factors.
"Different factors, whether due to physical injury or trauma, emotional stress, environmental toxins and/or stress on the immune system due to infection or allergy, lead to this overstrain of the sympathetic nervous system, which results in the symptoms of CFS," he says.
"The sympathetic nervous system may have been placed under stress for many years before the onset of signs and symptoms of illness," he adds.
The cranial osteopathic techniques which Dr Perrin developed, and now teaches to osteopaths, chiropractors and physiotherapists, push the lymph fluid back in the right direction. "Once the toxicity has been reduced in the central nervous system, the hypothalamus [ the only centre of the brain which has no blood/brain barrier] starts working again to regulate the body's hormones and other functions," he explains.
However, since CFS is such an all-encompassing illness and many people suffer from it for years, Dr Perrin says that recovery takes time. "I would say that about 30 per cent of patients just need my treatment but the rest need other treatments too.
"The first few weeks or sometimes months in severe cases, are always the most trying for patients. The worse the patient is in the early stages of treatment, the better usually it bodes for their prognosis," says Dr Perrin.
"I always tell patients to pace themselves and to do 50 per cent of what they think they can do. Sometimes, they will also need to take vitamin, mineral and omega three supplements," he says.
Finally, Dr Perrin says that he is one of the few practitioners who maintains that CFS can be prevented.
"The physical signs are very real and usually are seen long before the symptoms begin. This is why in the very early stages of the disorder, only a physical and postural-based examination can detect the development of this disorder before the sympathetic nervous system breaks down."
Log on to www.theperrinclinic.com for list of practitioners of the Perrin Technique. Log on to www.forme-cfs.co.uk for more details of research. Dr Perrin will train a group of osteopaths, chiropractors and physiotherapists in the Perrin Technique at a workshop in Dublin in May. Tel: 0044 161 7730123 for more details