You are born with 206 bones in your body give or take a few because of anomalies. There are so many bones to choose from that are important to the human body functioning properly, but this bone when misaligned or out of place can affect almost every bone in the body. Unless you are a healthcare practitioner you probably haven’t even heard of it before.
The bone that I am referring to is the Sphenoid bone. The sphenoid bone is one of the cranial bones that make up the skull. It is an unpaired cranial bone located right behind the side of both eyes. Why the sphenoid bone? The sphenoid bone has also been called the keystone bone, because it touches or articulates with every cranial bone in the skull. If the sphenoid bone is misaligned then quite possibly every bone in the skull could be misaligned too. The sphenoid bone comes from the Greek word sphenoeides or wedge-like. The sphenoid bone is one of the seven bones that articulate to form the orbit of the eye. Its shape somewhat resembles that of a butterfly or bat with its wings extended.
Your skull is not a single bone but it is made up of many cranial bones. You have eight larger bones that protect your brain and 14 smaller bones that make up the lower front of your skull. Most everybody thinks that the cranial bones do not move. The Cranial Academy and Sutherland Cranial Teaching Foundation found that there is life-long mobility of the cranial bones and sutures in healthy human beings. Sutures are the spaces between the cranial bones. Cranial bones can move in small amounts and do possess an inherent rhythmic motion. According to a study by Nelson, Sergueef and Glonek this rhythmic motion or oscillations occur 4 to 6 cycles per minute. Osteopathic physicians report the same oscillation rhythm in cranial bone motion in their studies too. Even NASA research has stated, “Although the skull is often assumed to be a rigid container with a constant volume, many researchers have demonstrated that the skull moves on the order of a few micro millimeters with changes in intracranial pressure.” This movement of your cranial bones and sutures is essential for health.
The sphenoid makes up part of the bottom of your skull. The pituitary gland sits on top of the sphenoid bone inside the skull. The pituitary gland is an endocrine gland that secretes important hormones vital to the body’s proper functioning. Hormones secreted from the pituitary gland help control the following body processes: growth, blood pressure, breast milk production, sex organ functions in both male and female, thyroid gland function, conversion of food into energy (metabolism), water regulation and balance with the kidneys, temperature regulation, and pain relief. Some aspects of pregnancy and childbirth including stimulation of uterine contractions during childbirth can also be affected. If the sphenoid bone is not in its proper position many of these hormones won’t be secreted in the proper amount from the pituitary gland.
Sphenoid subluxation or misalignment can cause migraines, headaches, depression, memory problems, brain dysfunction, dyslexia, learning disabilities, bed wetting, nightmares, cerebral palsy, color blindness, psychological disturbances, and moodiness. There can also be problems associated with taste, smell, hearing, vision, speech problems, dry mouth, teeth grinding, dental malocclusion, eye pain, deviation of the eyeball, eyelid weakness, balance issues, problems with tongue and or sucking, asthma, sinusitis, neck and lower back problems and scoliosis.
Some of the most likely causes of a sphenoid subluxation or misalignment are from falls, accidents, sports, minor falls, and childhood traumas, the birthing process and many more. Severe emotional stress or toxins can also affect the proper placement of the sphenoid bone.
Correcting cranial subluxations can be done with a light force adjusting instrument called the arthrostim that corrects cranial subluxations, removing pressure on the brain and spinal cord and the nervous system in general. This is a gentle procedure that patients (from infants to the elderly) usually find comfortable. Cranial adjustments usually stay in place for long periods of time, except if someone is dehydrated or another trauma occurs. Sometimes a cranial bone may need more than one correction if there was a severe head injury, severe trauma, dehydration, or nutritional deficiency. The results can be dramatic and leave the person healthier, both physically and emotionally like never before. After reading this you now know how important the sphenoid bone is to the overall proper functioning of your body.