Craniosacral therapy A system of therapy based on the idea that there is a rhythmic pressure and flow of cerebrospinal fluid between the cranium (skull) and sacrum (the base of the spine) that governs the way the craniosacral structures, including the brain, pituitary and pineal glands, spinal cord, and meninges, or membranes, func­tion and maintain the body’s well-being. In craniosacral therapy, Gentle hands-on “manipulation” of the skull’s sutures, that is, the delineations between the sections of cranial bone, and of the spinal column, rib cage, and limbs is reported to restore the flow and alle­viate disorders including headache, sinusitis, brain trauma, transient ischemic attack (called TIA, akin to a ministroke), strabismus (cross-eyes), trigemi­nal neuralgia (sharp pain in the jaw), asthma, colic,’ Bell’s palsy, posttraumatic stress disorder, rheuma­toid arthritis, dizziness, hyperactivity, visual distur­bances, seizures, postpartum depression, learning disabilities, ear infections, cerebral palsy, autism, and injury to the head, torso, arms, and legs.

The American osteopathic physician John E. Upledger developed Craniosacral Therapy (CST) alter conducting a team of researchers—physiolo­gists, biophysicists, bioengineers, anatomists, and others—at the Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine in the 1970s. Upledger decided that his main approach would involve manipulation of the meninges of the craniosacral system. In craniosacral therapy he theorized that cells and structures of the body have the capacity to “remember” physical or emotional shock, which manifests in certain areas he called “energy cysts.” In order for the body to function normally again, these energy cysts repre­senting suppressed painful experiences needed to be dislodged, released, or broken up both physi­cally and mentally; Upledger described the process as the technique of SomatoEmotional Release (SER). Upledger’s disciples often combine CST with SER, depending upon their patients’ individual needs. Craniosacral therapy is considered a type of energy medicine that targets the memory of past traumas the body subconsciously harbors.

In addition to Upledger’s meningeal approach, the sutural approach—manipulation at the cranial sutures—was developed by Dr. William Garner Sutherland, an early 20th-century osteopathic physician. There is still controversy concerning the ability of the cranial bones, which conventional medicine claims are fused together, to move at all, and also concerning the existence of a craniosacral rhythmic impulse. However, there is some scien­tific and clinical evidence that supports Suther­land’s treatment, originally known as cranial osteopathy. Another type of craniosacral therapy, called the reflex approach, combines the tech­niques of applied kinesiology with the stimulation of nerve endings located within the cranial sutures and in the scalp. A combination of all three approaches is the Sacro-Occipital Technique (S.O.T.), which was developed by Dr. Major B. DeJarnette, a chiropractor and in the 1920s a stu­dent oi Sutherland’s.

Because craniosacral treatments consist of light palpations, as opposed to chiropractic adjustments or more vigorous forms of bodywork, critics claim it cannot be effective. However effective or harm­less the therapy may be, it may not be recom­mended for young children or anyone with a dysfunction that affects intracranial pressure, such as a brain tumor or an aneurysm.

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