The Concise Perrin Technique: A Handbook for Patients

Dear reader,

This is a patient handbook and companion volume to the second edition of my book The Perrin Technique: How to diagnose and treat chronic fatigue syndrome/ME and fibromyalgia via the lymphatic drainage of the brain.

The first edition, The Perrin Technique: How to beat chronic fatigue syndrome/ME, was published in 2007 and was based on my doctorate, which I received after 11 years of research into myalgic encephalomyelitis at the University of Salford, UK.

Since 2007, I have continued my research and have been kept busy lecturing to the medical and scientific world on the lymphatic system of the brain and how it is disturbed in ME/CFS and fibromyalgia, plus teaching my techniques to those who wish to learn my approach. However, it wasnt easy in the beginning, as there was no proof that a lymphatic system of the brain even existed in the first place, never mind any problems with its drainage.

Everything changed in 2012, when there was a breakthrough discovery at the University of Rochester in New York State. Scientists, using a new type of brain scan, were able visually to show that the fluid in the brain did indeed drain into the lymphatics, and in 2015 a group from the University of Virginia discovered true lymphatic vessels lining the brain in mice. Finally, after so many years, the foundation of my main theory as to what was going wrong in patients with ME/CFS was being backed up by scientific discoveryalbeit in rodents. It was then that I started writing the second edition of my book and during this time, further scans of human brains have revealed a major system of lymphatic drainage of the central nervous system which may, according to scientists around the world, provide a pathway that is affected in many neurological disorders. I developed the Perrin Technique in 1989 to improve this drainage system, so it is nice to know that finally science has caught up.

My publisher, Georgina, instructed me to just start writing and let her know when I was finished. Well, after over five years, the second edition has finally been completed with over 500 pages containing all the facts a patient, practitioner and/or scientist needs to know about ME/CFS and fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). I have added FMS to the second edition as it is very similar, and has, in my opinion, the same causal factors as ME/CFS, plus my treatment has helped patients with both conditions for over 30 years.

If you have ME/CFS or FMS and are unable to concentrate on long text, or wish/have to save the cost of the much larger version, this handbook is for you. It sums up my theory of diagnosis and treatment of these complex diseases, including the Perrin Technique treatment plan. This will hopefully guide you, the patient, along your own individual road to recovery. I endeavour to keep the explanations as simple as possible in this companion handbook as the comprehensive book can provide all the extra detail you might want. If, after reading this, you wish to fully understand the complexities of diagnosis and treatment of ME/CFS and FMS and related conditions, complete with hundreds of scientific references, the second edition is waiting to be read.

If you wish to start the Perrin Technique, please try to find a practitioner near to you who is a trained and a licensed Perrin Technique practitioner if possible. If there are none in your neighbourhood, seek out a practitioner trained and experienced in both cranial techniques and manual therapy but preferably an osteopath, physiotherapist/physical therapist or chiropractor. They will be able to understand the detailed second edition, which contains a comprehensive section on other clinical conditions that could cause fatigue and diseases that commonly occur in patients with ME/CFS and FMS.

Once the practitioner has read the second edition of The Perrin Technique, they should be able to follow the instructions and be equipped to help you. It is better not to rely just on the self-massage and exercises in this handbook though it is very important that you do these as they will help. It is always best to do the whole treatment programme under the direction of a qualified practitioner to confirm the diagnosis and to improve your outlook.

If your condition is more complicated, the second edition contains advice that will guide you, the patient, and your practitioner to help in even the most complex presentations that could occur together with ME/CFS and FMS.

I wish you every success with your treatment and progress to better health.

Raymond Perrin, January 2021

I developed ME after a nasty bout of glandular fever at age 6. I was eventually diagnosed after my first crash at 11 years old, shortly after starting secondary school. Over the next seven years my condition got progressively worse, seeing many crashes and meaning that I couldnt be educated in mainstream school because of the severity of my condition. By the time I reached my 18th birthday, I was extremely unwell.