Benign Childhood Seizures — Truly Unprovoked?

 

Benign childhood seizures, also referred to as unprovoked seizures, remain a puzzle for the medical as well as lay community.  They tend to appear in early or middle childhood, come and go for several years and then cease, for no apparent reason.  These seizures may appear during the day or at night, some only at night.

Benign childhood seizures appear not to cause neural damage, hence termed benign.  However, they are scary to the child as well as the parents or caretakers/ teachers.  We fear them because they are unpredictable, uncontrollable, and we don’t know what causes them or when they will finally stop.

Current treatment of benign childhood seizures aims to suppress them.

Many doctors offer medication to stop the seizures or decrease their frequency, with mixed results, but the real possibility of serious side effects.  Anti-seizure drugs are heavy hitters and a high prize to pay for the suppression of benign seizures.

Suppression of benign seizures not only robs the body of its way to release pressure that builds up over time but also deprives us of the opportunity to learn from theses seizures and to provide support to the body to resolve the issues that cause these pressures to build until the body finally seizes like the earth does during an earth quake.

Each year the earth shakes in the form of thousands of minor and major quakes.  This certainly is one way for the release of pressure and realignment of the tectonic plates.

Is there a connection between childhood events and the advent of benign childhood seizures?

I find it interesting that benign childhood seizures come on in early or middle childhood when the body is going through many developmental changes and growth.  This is also a time fraught with accidents, small or large, on the playground, in the home, at school especially during recess, and during sports.

Moreover, early and middle childhood is a time when the body is still unraveling the effects of childbirth, especially one that was difficult and prolonged, with or without medical intervention, vaginal or cesarean.

Even in-utero conditions can set up the child for future developmental problems or benign childhood seizures.  Illnesses during pregnancy, medications, the mother’s emotional state, and the physical space in the mother’s womb, in part determined by the shape, size, and alignment of her pelvis and entire musculoskeletal system, all impact on the fetal development as well as infant and child development

Is there a purpose to benign childhood seizures?

Seizures may be the body’s way of releasing the build-up of musculoskeletal pressure due to connective tissue restrictions developed during a difficult pregnancy, difficult childbirth, and the many bumps and bruises, and other injuries during infancy, toddler years, and early to middle childhood.

Suppression of these seizures may therefore be counterproductive.

Even though most benign childhood seizures stop by early adulthood, with or without intervention, the restrictions causing them in the first place will remain and affect the person’s health and well-being throughout his/her lifetime.

The seizures may stop simply because growth and development have slowed down enough, or have  come to a halt, allowing the body to find a reasonable equilibrium.  Furthermore, an adult body is perhaps no longer soft and pliable enough to allow these benign seizures to manifest.  Or perhaps, adults have learned to live with these seizures and no longer report them to their doctor.

Craniosacral therapy and energetic unwinding assist the body to reset itself.

Craniosacral therapy and energetic unwinding of the spine, joints, and muscles help the child’s body to release these restrictions, rather than suppress them.

As the body releases these restrictions, there’s less and less need for using seizures as a safety valve.  Not only will the seizures eventually stop, as most do with or without intervention, but the use of craniosacral therapy during this period will promote harmonious and healthy development of the body and mind.

Craniosacral therapy and energetic unwinding are extremely gentle and amazingly effective at helping the body to release restrictions no matter how old they are or what caused them.  These two therapies are thus perfectly suited to assist the body in its attempt to re-establish a harmonious balance in the musculoskeletal system.