WHAT IS THE PERRIN TECHNIQUE
The Perrin Technique™ was developed in 1989 by British Osteopath and Neuroscientist Dr Raymond Perrin DO Ph.D. and is a manual method that aids the diagnosis and treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), and Long COVID.
Based on Dr. Perrin’s theory that different stress factors (whether physical, allergies, emotional, or infections) lead to an overstrain of the sympathetic nervous system, and 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 channels from the brain into the lymph ducts of the head, 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 a CFS/ME sufferer, there is a backflow of these normal drainage points which leads to further toxicity and dysfunction of the central nervous system. This leads to the many symptoms we see in CFS/ME.
With an Osteopathic approach, The Perrin Technique™ 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, directs 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.
THE PERRIN TECHNIQUE™ TREATS
DIAGNOSING CFS/ME WITH THE PERRIN TECHNIQUE™
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME)
Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS)
Long COVID
Further investigation has shown that the reversal of the neurolymphatic flow and the disturbed sympathetic nervous system has led to other common physical signs that are found in CFS/ME patients.
CFS/ME is very much a biomechanical disorder with clear and diagnosable physical signs, including disturbed spinal posture, varicose enlarged lymph vessels, and specific tender points related to sympathetic nerve disturbance and backflow of lymphatic fluid. The fluid drainage from the brain to the lymphatics moves in a rhythm that can be palpated using cranial osteopathic techniques. A trained practitioner can feel a disturbance in the cranial rhythm in CFS/ME.
By identifying the common signs in all CFS/ME sufferers, Dr. Perrin has devised a physical examination that results in aid to a definitive diagnosis. The diagnostic signs of The Perrin Technique™ have been tested and supported by the rigor of an NHS-controlled trial, published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ Open) in November 2017.
TREATING CFS/ME WITH THE PERRIN TECHNIQUE™
The Perrin Technique™ treatment manually stimulates the fluid motion around the brain and spinal cord by a combination of specific adapted osteopathic techniques and manual lymphatic drainage developed by Dr. Raymond Perrin which aids drainage of these toxins out of the cerebrospinal fluid.
Cranial and spinal techniques together with the massage of the soft tissues in the head, neck, back, and chest together with the gentle stroking lymphatic techniques 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 patient’s pace and not overstrain themselves their symptoms should gradually improve and in time some patients become totally symptom-free.
TREATING FIBROMYALGIA WITH THE PERRIN TECHNIQUE™
An adapted form of The Perrin Technique™ is also helpful in the treatment of Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS) which is often diagnosed in patients who have CFS/ME. Dr. Perrin believes FMS is caused by the same biomechanical problems as CFS/ME with the toxins in these patients targeting the pain control centres in the brain leading to widespread severe myalgia (muscle pain) in all parts of the body and many of the symptoms of ME.