CRANIOSACRAL THERAPY
This little known therapy is actually quite old and was developed by Dr. William Sutherland, an osteopathic physician in the 1920’s. It involves a very gentle manipulation of the bones of the skull and sacrum (the triangle shaped bone in the pelvis that the spine rests upon). Modern medical education teaches that the suture lines where two different skull bones meet and join are rigid and inflexible. This turns out to be a misconception and there is a small amount of movement possible.
A modern osteopath named John Upledger noticed during a spinal surgery that the spinal fluid came out in regular pulsations. He explored this and developed a technique to improve the circulation of the cerebrospinal fluid that bathes the brain and spinal cord. He combined his approach with Dr. Sutherland’s and calls his approach CranioSacral Therapy. He has created a research and education foundation in Florida that certifies people to teach his approach. A variety of health care providers have been trained in CranioSacral Therapy by his pupils all over the country. For information, go online to www.upledger.com. Osteopaths and chiropractors also have developed similar approaches and have their own training courses.
The CranioSacral technique takes 30-60 minutes to perform on a person who lies quietly on their back while fully clothed. Most people find it to be very relaxing. Conditions that might benefit from this therapy are numerous. Headaches, tinnitus (ringing in the ears), visual problems (cross-eyes, myopia, lazy eye), jaw and neck pain, learning disabilities and attention deficit disorder, dizziness, cerebral palsy, epilepsy and many apparently systemic conditions may improve if caused by imbalance in the cranial bones and their underlying membranes. Children often benefit, especially infants. The sutures of infants and young children have not fused so they readily respond to the gentle traction applied in correction of abnormal positions of the bones. Conditions that may benefit include ear infections, vomiting, irritability, and hyperactivity.
Because the treatments are very safe and gentle, they are worth considering if standard approaches have failed to provide any help. Unfortunately, there is not much published research on clinical studies looking at results of this therapy. A book written for the layperson by Dr. Upledger is titled “Your Inner Physician and You: CranioSacral Therapy & SomatoEmotional Release” published in 1992 by North Atlantic Books.
Daniel Blodgett MD