OT: NCR/orthotropics was CAT scan advice?

[Guest guest]

Cade,We have already done four series of NCR as well.  I just wanted to add that NCR works on decompressing the cranial bones, slightly separating the cranial bones at the sutures, to decompress bones to help them move more freely as well as balancing the sphenoid bone.  NCR uses balance tests in order to determine which of six different sinus areas to place the balloon for inflation.  While there may be many claimed benefits to doing so and decompressing the skull, the method does not actually have an ability to direct the bones specifically, only help " loosen " them so that they are able to move to where they would naturally or, if used in conjunction with orthotropics or orthodontics, the direction of force that the devices are trying to take the bones.

While you may get everything balanced with NCR, when you begin ortho work afterwords, you may likely still find adjustments with NCR or cranial sacral or osteopathic work necessary because of the pressures that the ortho work is placing on the skull and jaw.  These modalities would help the body adjust to the changes and facilitate the work of the ortho more quickly.  Our NCR doc told me that with his orthodontic patients the work goes faster with their cases.

In my son's case, we were not making much progress with the ALF appliance.  The cranial osteopath told us that my son's palatine bones (small bones located at the very back of the hard palate) were jammed and could be the reason why we weren't making progress on bringing my son's midface (upper mandible) forward.  The osteopath's method for working on this would be to stick his little finger far back into the mouth to push on those bones to manipulate them.  This unfortunately also triggered my son's gag reflex making it difficult to work on.  After using NCR in conjunction with the ALF (including reverse headgear and elastics pulling in the mouth), we made more progress in shifting the midface in the four months (we only did one series per month) than we had the previous six months.  However, NCR does not move the bones themselves in specified directions and according to our NCR doc, my son's NCR balance tests were coming out fine, so he recommended no further NCR treatments but to check back in 3 months to see if he needed another adjustment.  I realize that other NCR docs might continue doing several series (in Dr. Howell's books many of the case studies receive treatments over a period of many years), but I feel that our NCR doc has a great deal of integrity and would not recommend more if the tests he does says it is not needed as far as NCR itself goes.

Now I do not know your case and how severe it may be, but you might want to consider continuing NCR treatments or cranial or osteopathic work while you are getting the ortho work, and I wouldn't necessarily say that NCR should come before the ortho or that ortho couldn't be started while still doing NCR, but of course you should consult with your docs on it.

Val