Craniosacral Therapy

Craniosacral therapy was “discovered” in the 1930s by an osteopath who thought that health was governed by small motions of the bones of the skull and sacrum. However, it was refined by another osteopath, John Upledger, who is today its leading proponent. Craniosacral therapy is so biologically implausible and operates so differently from the body’s well-established physiology that it is frankly difficult to describe. The best synopsis of its tenets we’ve found is that on the Quackwatch website:

“The human brain makes rhythmic movements at the rate of 10 to 14 cycles per minute . . .

Small cranial pulsations can be felt with the fingertips.

Restriction of movement of the cranial sutures (where the skull bones meet) interfere with the normal flow of cerebrospinal fluid (the fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord) and causes disease.

Diseases can be diagnosed by detecting aberrations in this rhythm.

Pain . . . and many other ailments can be remedied by pressing on the skull bones.”

The Upledger Institute and The Upledger Clinic are located in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Like many "alternative" therapies, the claims for craniosacral therapy are both vague and grandiose, with a touch of the bizarre. From the Upledger Clinic’s website we learn that:

“CranioSacral Therapy is a light-touch approach that can create dramatic improvements in your life and wellness. It releases tensions deep in the body to relieve pain and dysfunction and improve whole-body health and performance.”

“[Craniosacral Therapy] is effective for a wide range of medical problems associated with pain and dysfunction, including [and this is only a partial list]: Autism, Central Nervous System Disorders, Traumatic Brain and Spinal Cord Injuries, Infantile Disorders, Learning Disabilities, TMJ, Neurovascular or Immune Disorders, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Post-Surgical Dysfunction.”

The Institute has also developed a therapy called the SomatoEmotional Release process which “uses and expands on the principles of CranioSacral Therapy to help rid the mind and body of the residual effects of trauma.” As explained by the Institute, “physical forces due to an accident, injury, or emotional trauma create isolated dysfunctional areas known as ‘energy cysts’ which results in extra energy being required to perform normal bodily functions.” SomatoEmotional Release is promoted as a remedy for these “energy cysts.”

Craniosacral Therapy and SomatoEmotional Release are taught in courses, most lasting over several days. An example:

“CranioSacral Therapy and the Immune Response Course Description

The goal for this class is to teach you how to better help the immune system performs its magic. To accomplish that, you’ll learn how to communicate with different cell types to find out how you can them improve their performance . . .”

In spite of the biological implausibility of craniosacral therapy, it has been studied. Not surprisingly, no study has concluded craniosacral therapy is efficacious for any disease or condition, or even that the proposed craniosacral system exists in the first place. A 1999 systematic review of craniosacral therapy by Green and others “found insufficient evidence to support craniosacral therapy.”

Craniosacral therapy is practiced by massage therapists, chiropractors, osteopaths and physical therapists. It is also known as cranial osteopathy, cranial therapy, bio cranial therapy, and by two chiropractic variations, craniopathy and sacro-occipital technique (SOT). At the Upledger Clinic, an initial individual appointment is usually $140. An intensive 5-day program is also offered for $4,250.

Unless craniosacral therapy or its variants are within the scope of practice of the practitioner offering this alternative therapy, craniosacral therapy may constitute the unlicensed practice of a healthcare profession. For more information go to “Your rights as a healthcare consumer under Florida law.”

References:

S. Barrett, “Why Craniosacral Therapy Is Silly,” Quackwatch, http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/cranial.html (accessed March 3, 2009).

C. Green, C.W. Martin, K. Bassett, A. Kazanjian, “A systematic review of craniosacral therapy: biological plausibility, assessment,  reliability, and clinical effectiveness, Complementary Therapies in Medicine 7, no. 4 (1999):201-7.

The Upledger Institute, www.upledger.com (accessed March 5, 2009).

The Upledger Clinic, www.upledgerclinic.com (accessed March 5, 2009).

Simon Singh and Edzard Ernst, Trick or Treatment: The Undeniable Facts About Alternative Medicine  (New York: W.W. Norton, 2008), 305.