Massage and Chiropractic treatment. Can it cure thumb sucking? Apparently it can and it has.
I’m one of those people who has to know why something works so when this subject came up, I had to look deeper. And of course, try to relate it to dogs some how. I think I’ve done it.
My Mom doesn’t remember if I sucked my thumb as a child or not. I don’t remember ever doing it so I can’t approach this subject from personal experience.
There are a ton of adults who suck their thumbs so what makes it taboo or should it be? Is it a bad thing? I don’t know. Some people think is is, some think it’s not. What I did find was that most of the adults who posted to lists that I saw online wish that they could quit. Most say they try to hide it from the world.
I did some digging and it seems that most adults who suck their thumbs want to stop. I found out a lot of stuff as I looked and talked. I’ll bet you dollars to donuts that you know someone who sucks their thumb in secret. Their closest family member might know about it but no one else does.
Any way, the reason I got interested in this was because the subject came up the other day when we were talking about cranial sacral therapy by massage therapists and chiropractors. One of the therapists told us about a boy whose family did everything they could to get him to stop. He was five years old when they finally found help. His thumb sucking was giving him trouble with his friends and the family unit. They found help when turned away from traditional medicine.
This little boy’s parents had done everything to get him to quit sucking his thumb. They belittled him, they used bad tasting stuff, they wrapped his thumb, they scolded him, they told him he would never have a girlfriend or a wife or children, he would live alone forever and nobody would ever love him. Geez, folks, I thought, lighten up, he’s five years old. I found out in my searching that these tactics are ones commonly used by people who have thumb suckers in their life. Including adult thumb suckers. It doesn’t work for them any better than it did for the little boy.
The parents of the little boy talked to all the professionals they could get to. Their dentist told them that his teeth would be oddly shaped if they didn’t get him to quit, keep trying by any means. Their family doctor said that the boy was a little retarded or autistic and he might suck his thumb his whole life so to just ignore it. They went to psychologists and psychiatrists, who told them that the boy was deprived of motherly love and that all of their damming him had caused him an ego problem and he would never be “normal”. That his low self esteem caused by them would start to cause tantrums because of extreme emotions like anger and self hatred. Well, that was encouraging. And expensive.
I did some looking around online and talked to some people who are supposed to know about these things, I was surprised with what I found out. The cure they found for the boy makes perfect sense to me because of the reasoning behind it. It explains at some level why the Anxiety Release Exercise for Dogs (pics of the exercise) that I’ve developed works so well on rescue dogs. Dogs who have behavioral and fear related problems like biting, not eating, separation anxiety.
According to the info I’ve found, and it’s pretty new stuff according to some of the professionals, human heads do not fuse. Our cranial bones do not fuse together. It was always thought that they did. We were told years ago when our babies were little to turn them several times when they were laying down, so their heads would have a nice shape and when the bones fused, the head would be a nice looking head so the generally accepted idea was that the skull does fuse at some point in childhood.
There has been a study that proves that our skulls do not fuse or at least they are not supposed to. Our skulls have the flexibility to move so when air pressure changes, we don’t have pain in our head and ears.
Some newer information is that young children who do head banging and thumb sucking may simply be releasing the pressure of their skull because their skull isn’t doing it for them. When they suck their thumb, they put pressure on the roof of the mouth, effectively releasing the pressure of the skull and the pain it causes. Some experts believe the pain happens with air pressure changes. Like when a storm is coming. Some believe that the skull is stuck, causing the behavior to be repeated over and over again on a daily basis.
If you’ve ever had a dog who could predict a storm was on the way, this is very interesting stuff. Is it barometric pressure changes that cause some dogs to have pain in their heads before a storm? And if it’s not pain, why does the dog react the way it does? Why the fear behavior? Is the change in air pressure causing the pain which then creates a fear based reaction? The dog starts to shake or whine and hide, or maybe just go to it’s person and want comfort. Sure enough, about a half hour later, here comes the storm. Was the dog telling us that pressure was causing his head to hurt?
A child wouldn’t be able to reason through the pain and maybe he instinctively found an activity that helped calm and comfort him, thumb sucking. The dog can’t suck his thumb so is left with the pain of the pressure so he does not calm down until the storm passes. According to the experts who’ve done the studies, it is the change of pressure in the skull. The child bangs his head or sucks his thumb to help relive the pressure in his head and he feels better. Does the dog shake his head and have body shaking to do the same thing? Or is the dog prisoner to the feeling until the storm passes? Or maybe both?
Experts are saying that in normal children, the need to suck their thumb ends when the child starts to walk, the body changes and the spine helps the skull effectively relieve the pressure without the thumb sucking. But what if the sucking doesn’t stop? What’s going on then? They think that they skull may be stuck in a static position, it can’t move on it’s own, thus the thumb sucking behavior doesn’t stop.
Even more, they’ve found that when the spine is not aligned properly, the spinal column cannot work properly which can keep the skull from moving as it should. The stuck position. Subluxations (misalignment of the spine) can cause people to suffer with disease, organ function problems, and can mess with general good health. Does it cause thumb sucking, too? And behavior problems in dogs?
Many professionals think that subluxation stresses are often the result of damage caused by pre-natal or birth trauma, vaccinations, accidents, chemical or emotional stress. The holistic and most natural practitioners in the dog world have been preaching against vaccinations for years. Today more and more veterinarians are coming out about this and suggesting against giving them so often. Traditionally most vaccinations are given yearly, they’d like to see that go to every three years instead.
“Accidents” with dogs can be anything from rough play, to being jerked around or hung with a leash in traditional types of training, to being in a car accident with their people. I hear about dogs who need help giving birth all the time. Is that because of bad breeding practices, vaccinations causing problems, lack of nutrition? Whatever that is, it’s not the way Nature intended it to be and it has to be traumatic not only to the mother but to the puppies as well.
I’m told that cranial sacral massage is done by feeling the scalp and skull to find out where the troubles are and then manipulating the skeleton, the skull and the muscles, helping to repair the damage. Muscles are what hold our bones together. So maybe when all of it is put together, old fears and behavioral issues go away. Perhaps the Anxiety Release Exercise is truly, as I believe, a form of releasing the memory from the muscles and the dogs would do even better if they saw a chiropractor and massage therapist to get even deeper into the physical being of the animal as well as the emotional and mental side of it. Or is the posture and sometimes the struggle to keep the dog on it’s back somehow manipulating the spine, the skull and the muscles? Is that why it works?
So if you follow the logic that perhaps humans suck their thumbs into adulthood and so many millions of dogs suffer fear and behavioral issues including thunder phobia, you might wonder if it’s at all possible that all of those people and animals suffered some sort of injury, chemical or physical, to their skulls and skeletons at some point from when they were conceived to where they are now, keeping their body from working properly.
There is an Italian study proving that human and monkey skulls are not supposed to fuse but remain movable throughout our life. If it happens in us and monkeys, is it the same in dogs?
So what happened with the five year old boy? His parents took him to a massage therapist who did cranial sacral therapy. After every visit, the boy quit sucking his thumb for about two months. Entirely. He quit, didn’t even try. After two months, he would start again. Did the memory come back? Did the muscle return to it’s former wrong place pulling the spine out of whack thus stopping the skull from working properly?
They returned again and again to the therapist. After one year, the child quit sucking his thumb entirely.
Okay, maybe he would have anyway. Maybe. The parents didn’t think so. So I’ll lean with the parents for now and for the sake of argument, if he hadn’t had the treatment, maybe he would be sucking his thumb into adulthood.
If all of this is true and I have no reason to doubt it, then adults who still suck their thumbs can be treated effectively as well. If the skull and spine can be permanently moved back into place and the muscles learn where they are supposed to be, maybe so.
It’s worth a shot for those people who want to quit sucking their thumbs. And for the dogs? Maybe it will cure their fear and bad behavior? I don’t know. I do know that good nutrition, which supports muscles, goes a long way to helping dogs recover from fear based problems. And I recommend chiropractic and massage therapy anyway, it’s helped so many dogs and people.
I’ll just throw this in while I’m at it. A study was done a few years ago, traditional medicine vs chiropractors. Medical doctors and chiropractors were involved in this study. The study showed that for every two people who recovered completely with traditional medicine, eleven recovered completely with chiropractic. That’s 450% more!
My research into this was pretty simple and I’m positive not conclusive but I have to think that the therapy is worth a try. To live without secrets and fears caused by something that they have no control over is worth a lot. Isn’t it?
I know this to be a fact. Before Tilli had her chiropractic treatment a week ago, when there was a bad storm, she would move in beside my bed, not scared out of her mind like some dogs are but panting and not sleeping. We had a storm roll through a day ago and Tilli didn’t seem to notice it.
I’m just saying….
I… think that reasoning is a load of crap. Thumb sucking generally isn’t in reaction to pain, or because someone is stupid. It’s a calming, soothing sensation. It’s relaxation therapy, not because of a misformed skull. Normal, everyday people do it. I don’t see why people feel it’s such a problem, or why it holds such a stigma. It’s amazing the ridiculous things people come up with to explain the habit. It’s just that, a habit. Nothing more, nothing less. Thumbsucker
[Dear Thumbsucker, There isn't anything in my post about people being stupid. You're right, some adults who suck their thumbs are perfectly comfortable with doing it and do it in public as well, they don't try to hide it. If you read my article again you'll see that I don't judge whether it's good or bad, right or wrong. The post was for those people who want to stop and so far haven't found anything that works. Before calling something a load of crap, you'd probably have to try it first. If you do try it and you want to continue to suck your thumb, let me know. I'm almost always in educational mode, I love to learn about things. Thanks for your comment. I really appreciate it. Darcie]
I think its alright. I dont feel as though it hurts anybody. I have been a sucking my thumb since I was ten years old. I never did it before that. It became an escape for me. My stepdad was molesting me from ten to fourteen, he was fifty to fifty four. It was my only outlet. Im 32 and I have gone weeks without it and then theres times where i feel like i have to even if it means going to the bathroom covering my head with a jacket whatever. I have times where its frequent and times where its seldom and I question whether or not that makes me insecure by societys standards. I just know that it calms me relaxes me soothes me and somehow it puts me at a peaceful place it helps me deal with the abuse i suffered growing up since my family didnt believe me. well thanks for allowing me to respond
Dear Darcie, I don’t think you have enough samples or any studies of merit to draw scientifically based conclusions. What you have here is a hypothesis. The majority of adult thumb suckers do so out of habit and, if they want to cease, habit ceasation techniques offer the best, proven, methods to date. Harvey
[Dear Harvey, You’re absolutely right and it’s why I didn’t try to draw any scientific conclusions, I’ll leave that to people who are smarter than I am. I think I said in the article that it wasn’t an in depth study on thumb sucking, only an observation of some studies and one successful end to it, and that there may be an easy solution for some people, if they wanted to try it. I didn’t try to draw scientifically based conclusions. I read everything I could get my hands on and talked to a lot of professionals and I think it’s probably true that so far no one has been able to nail down why adults continue to suck their thumbs. Maybe it is a habit. Habits, when they are approached correctly, can often be broken. So many people have tried to stop and they can’t. I’d think that having the thumb so close to the mouth would make it harder to quit no matter what you try. It’s not like smoking or drinking where you have to make conscious decision to get up and go get the cigarette or drink, or gambling where you have to go to the casino or log on. Many people who suck their thumbs aren’t entirely sure why they can’t stop, according to the email I’ve received about this (I don’t post comments if someone asks me not to). Some say they don’t want to stop because they “fear” what they might feel like if they lose the calming influence of it. Some say they’ll try anything to stop because although the activity of thumb sucking makes them feel good while they’re doing it, if someone “catches” them in the activity or they fear that someone will, they feel bad about themselves. The “bad” feeling is something they’d like to lose. Some find it perfectly natural and wouldn’t stop even if they could. Like I said in my post, the information and possible “cure” wasn’t for anyone who wants to continue, it was for those who want to stop. The biggest hurdle to just about everyone is having to tell another adult that they suck their thumb. Finding a chiropractor and a masseuse that they trust is a huge step to take but it can be done. If I could give anyone advice about this, it would be this: Do what is right for you and don’t worry what other people are going to think. Be who you are. If you want to suck your thumb, don’t be embarrassed about it, don’t hide it. The pain of hiding and secrets can be debilitating to our spirit, mind, and heart. If you want to stop sucking your thumb, try some things you haven’t tried yet. If habit cessation hasn’t worked for you, try something else. Share your concerns with your chiropractor and your masseuse, tell them you need some help, that’s what they’re there for. If you don’t want the world to know about it, make it clear to your caregivers that you don’t want anyone to know why you’re seeing them. Ethical care givers won’t leak that info anyway, they are there to help you, not to hurt you. For those who want to stop, it’s worth a try. The worst that could happen is it doesn’t work to stop the thumb sucking. You’ll still be left with a good thing, your body will feel better and you’ll be more relaxed. The best that could happen is, maybe it will work for you and the thumb sucking will be in the past. The bottom line is really, do what makes you feel at peace. Keep it if you like it, try something outside your normal beliefs if you want to lose it. There is something else I can add to this discussion, too. Some people are getting relief with energy work. It seems, and I agree with this, that our energy gets stuck in our bodies and that creates habits, troubles and pain for us. If you’d like more information about this, send me a comment and I’ll reply. There are so many things in this world of ours that can help us live in these bodies we’re given for a while, we just have to open our minds and see. Sometimes the “cure” isn’t hard at all. It’s only our fear that there isn’t one that stifles us. Life is too short not to have everything we need.
I was a pacifier baby, and when my mother though I was too old she told me the dog ate it and end of pacifier! So I can’t relate to thumb sucking but the fear reaction in dogs is something I never thought about in that way. My dogs don’t seem to be bothered by storms but my male Aussie despite being socialized identically to his sister (littermates) is a very nervous “neurotic” dog. They do eat a mostly raw diet, and I have used herbal calming supplements for him, but he always has this nervous edge to him. I myself go to a chiropractor because 20 years of softball and numerous other events wreaked havoc on my spine and caused debilitating migraines and lower back spasms. I’m pain free now, so you may be on to something! I know my dogs play rough, and Jake has been in a car accident once with my sister so I would imagine he’s probably out of alignment. You’ve given me an ‘ah-ha’ moment and I think I need to find a doggie chiropractor….
Ok – I find this interesting because I am 38 and have been a thumb sucker all my life as well…..I was able to quit for 15 months a few years ago only to fall off the wagon when life got EXTRA tough…… Near here’s the kicker – looking back I realize now that at the time I was able to quit I was also going to a chiropractor and periodically getting massages too…. Now I am beginning to wonder if there is a correlation between the two…. ….
Personally, I’m 18, and I have been sucking my thumb for my whole life. I don’t care -too- much for the social faux-pas regarding it, rather I care more about how it affects my teeth. Frankly, they’re a bit pulled out, and very tender/almost soft in their setting, it feels like. That’s my only problem.
I’ve tried to quit but, even if I suceed in barely doing it for a while, emotional stress always makes me give up. I honestly don’t know what I feel about this but… I’m thinking of giving it a shot. I don’t know if I can quite grasp the concept of thumb-sucking as a pressure relief, especially because when I do it I don’t push upwards hard or anything, but I can see the benefits of chiropractic care aiding it regardless. I’m not quite sure where my belief is based, though – the emotional benefits? a trust in naturopathy? this article?
Regardless, I wanted to thank you, because, even if it doesn’t work, it made me feel a tiny bit more hopeful, and like I’m maybe not destroying my mouth out of the inability to just say “forget it, I’m done!”. – Shelby
Dear Shelby, Find a chiropractor who does gentle manipulation of the nerves and muscles, not the bone cracking kind and keep seeing them for a while. If they work with babies, that’s the one you want to see. They work with adults too, but the ones who work with babies understand the need for the gentleness and that it gets a much better rate of success than the old style. I think you’ll have the best luck that way. I know someone who sucks their thumb and that person loves doing it but hates that anyone knows. They feel childish and that’s a hard, hard thing to get past. They try to hide it but sometimes they get caught, it’s an almost mind numbing fear for them that someone will tell. They don’t want to quit and fear going to someone who could help them quit. They fear that without the thumb sucking, they won’t feel safe and if they aren’t safe, their whole world will collapse. In my research and talking to people who suck their thumb, saying that it’s done never works. It’s not one of those things that a person can quit just by saying they’re going to quit. Try the chiropractor and you might also see if you can find an energy medicine healer in your community. It’s pretty amazing what happens when we change and balance our energy and our body. I’ll say a prayer for you right now to find the people who can help you. Be candid with them and pray for them, too. Love yourself. It’s worth more than anything. Here’s love to you, Girl! – Darcie
hi im turning 21 in like a month and i still suck my thumb and i do want to quit and no one knows about it but it seems like the only time i can go to bed without sucking my thumb is wen im drunk or theres a girl to hold on to next to me im thinkin its a way of calming myself and i cant think of any other way to stop it………..
I had been very impressed by your scientific approach to the Shoo!Tag and thought it was indicative of your general approach to life. Sadly, this article is full of unproven and unprovable conjecture along with some glaring mistakes. For instance, you state “Muscles are what hold our bones together. ” Muscles do not hold our bones together. Generally speaking, ligaments attach bones to other bones and tendons attach muscles to bones. With a basic inaccuracy like this, it’s hard to know which of your other statments might be accurate. Leslie
Dear Leslie, If you’re sucking your thumb and you want to quit, give it a try. You don’t even have to tell them why you’re there…the results will be what they will be. Generally speaking is good, hold to that. Thanks. – Darcie
I’m 22 and have been sucking my thumb my whole life. I never took interest into looking into it until today when my girl friend asked me why I do it my response was “I don’t know”, although I’ve been told from rumor that it’s because I was weaned off the pacifier too early, I don’t know how true that is. I do commend you for your interest and findings, seeing that you have no prior experience of sucking your thumb. This article does give me hope. I don’t know if there’s correlation but ever since I could remember I’ve always had body aches and now reading this makes me wonder if there could be something out of place and could fix both problem.
I was really interested in your hypothesis about adult thumbsucking. I am 53 years old and I still “suck my thumb”. I really just breath into my cupped hands over my mouth with my thumb in my mouth. I don’t suck. I just breath. It relaxes me and since I don’t suck there’s no tooth problems invovled. I am a smoker and I thought maybe it was just an issue with oral fixation. I was really excited about your ideas. My mom never turned her babies in the crib. My brother and I have very flat heads and it’s embarrassing but we match. I have had many back injuries working as a certified nursing assistance since age 15 and as a nurse for 35 years. I’ve had two back surgeries and I still wake up with my hands numb, which is very painful and annoying. I’ve have had sessions with chiropractors but that gets expensive and I think it has to be ongoing. But I will revisit my chiropractor and inform him that I suck my thumb and about your article and the plates of the brain fusing properly. Thank you.
I am an adult thumbsucker as well and trust me. I’ts nothing more than a habit that started very early in childhood, it is a security blanket (so to speak). makes one relax, and helps you think,sleep,and just generally takes all your worries of the day away. I guess that’s better than taking drugs or drinking alchohol. lol!
I am an adult thumbsucker at 35, I have always done this, my brother is 36 and he is also a thumbsucker, I just do it more then he does. I hate it, My husband knows my kids know but they are defintily embarassed. I had braces at 14-16 to fix my teeth. I now need braces again becuase my teeth shifted back to where it was. It makes me Cry I definitly feel like there is no end to doing it. I have done every under the sun to stop. any suggestions. the only time I don’t suck my thumb when I have the flu or stuffing my face. HELP.
I’m 21, a thumbsucker, and it seems I only do it when I’m at home or on my way home from work. I use a pillowcase as a ‘security’ or ‘baby’ blanket now.. many ppl say its because I’m still a child at heart or because of the fact I was forced to grow up.. I was in a car wreck a few years back and went to a chiropractor, but the stress just made me suck my thumb more..
I am 18 now about to be 19 in a few months and I have sucked my thumb for as long as I can remember. I guess I picked up the habit or whatever you want to call it at a young age. My parents didn’t seem to mind until I continued to suck my thumb when I was about 7. They tried everything. Duct-taping socks to my hands, putting this one cheese powder on my thumbs (I hate cheese), hot sauce, and more but it never seemed to work. Eventually they gave up.
I am not embarrassed that I suck my thumb, almost anybody who knows me on a personal level knows and yes I get called childish and what not for it I simply don’t care. But I do wish to stop. Its not because of the teasing, Its partly because my upper teeth are pulled out, giving me an over bite. This doesn’t bug me that much either except for when I am trying to take a picture and the shadows catch it so it looks bigger than it really is.
My main concern though is my actual thumb. From the years I have been sucking my thumb and how often I have done it my thumb looks off. The skin is cracked severely and it is much, much flatter than my other thumb, basically looking like skin and bones. The skin around my thumb often starts…peeling I guess you can say. But my biggest concern is my thumb nail. Its very weak and brittle. I fear that If I continue sucking my thumb much longer that it will come off, its already starting to loosen its hold.
I am not a fan of chiropractics but at this point in time I am willing to try anything to stop this habit before its too late.
Hi, I have a similar problem: that my thumb looks weak and the colour is a bit off. As for the nail i actually just started to use calcium nail polish; basically just healthy nail polish. I’m 14 so I’m not too sure if it’s such a good idea since your nail seems to be a bit more off hold than mine but it seems to work for me You probably should talk about it to a specialist before trying it.
Goodluck!
I still suck my thumb but only to go to sleep, it’s kinda like my sleeping pill. I’m 18, I’m trying to stop and I’m going to tell my boyfriend about it, I’m nervous but I know he won’t find it that big of a deal. I’ve gone 10 months because I was living with a roommate, but once they left I started again. To stop I threw away my comfort object, my “blanket” and I also wear my retainer it helps my thumb not enter my mouth. The reason I want to tell my boyfriend is because I don’t want him to think I keep secrets from him, and it’s nothing to really be ashamed of its not like I’m doing drugs, it’s just a way to relax and fall asleep. I find myself having a harder time sleeping with just my retainer but I’m getting use to it. I don’t know why but I just decided it was time to stop my habits, tell someone who I trust( I’ve never told anyone). I’m stoppinh all my habits, biting my nails and sucking my thumb. I really don’t know why but it’s just time I guess. I don’t have any personal issues my parents at one point put the prevention object in my mouth but I still sucked my thumb then even though the sharp object behind my front teeth were digging into my thumb. The reason I think I never stopped is because no one knew or my parents didnt care and I got away with it. My mom at a really young age threw away my passifier and I cried and told her how am I going to sleep and she said suck your thumb. And from then on I sucked my thumb. I think people shouldn’t be ashamed and also quit if you can just because you want to or because you don’t want you children to go through it. If you don’t quit don’t worry about it. I honestly never knew anyone did it until I saw a commercial for weird addictions and I thought I’m weird, but I’m not apparently a lot of people do, and some people didn’t even know they knew other people they knew did it too. Stay strong suckers;)
Hey, I have been sucking my thumb since I was 3 years old and my mom took away my pacifier. I don’t know how to approach my chiropractor about this. It’s a very toutchy subject for me and only my family knows. I’m still young enough that I live with my parents and I can’t drive, so I get a ride to my chiropractor. How do I ask my parents? They will probably think this is rediculous but now that I think of it, the time I most often suck my thumb is when I have a headache. I’ve pretty much tried everything but can’t seem to stop! If you could let me know what I should say to my chiropractor that would be great!a thanks so much for posting this!
Kelsey
Dear Kelsey, Be brave. Your parents love you and want the best for you. Your Chiro is a doctor and your secret is safe with them. Print the article and let your Parents and your Chiropractor read it. You go for it! – Darcie