We mostly rely on anecdotal evidence provided by satisfied clients to their family and friends in developing our craniosacral Practices. From time to time, we’re asked to provide clinical evidence confirming the effectiveness of craniosacral therapy, and an evidence-base for its use. Evidence-based Practice (EBP) is becoming increasingly required in all therapies both within complementary and within conventional medicine.
Increasingly, we find medical professionals wanting to use our services for some of their patients but being reluctant to do so due to the lack of evidence-based research. This situation is reflected in many complementary therapies.
The purpose of this webpage is to help support and promote the need for effectiveness evidence within CST. Our aims are as follows:
The ongoing qualitative study being sponsored by CSTA and carried out by one of our members, Nicola Brough, as part of a Masters by Research degree at Warwick University Medical School will provide valuable research information that CSTA has not previously had: qualitative methodology allows us to better understand clients’ experiences and to make an informed decision about an appropriate outcome measure to gather data.
CSTA wants to build on the information provided by the qualitative study by continuing to develop an on-going research programme to design a quantitative study to explore the effectiveness of CST. Such research requires funding and CSTA will be seeking the help of its members to identify research funding and to obtain such funding.
Members have identified a number of studies that, taken together, provide a glimpse of how effective craniosacral therapy and cranial osteopathy can be.
Note re references: website references sometimes disappear but were available at the date this note was published!
Amiel-Tison C, Soyez-Papiernik E. Cranial osteopathy as a complementary treatment of postural plagiocephaly. Archives de Pédiatrie. 2008;15 Suppl 1;S24-30.
Cozzolino V, La Mola E, Ciardelli F, et al. Impact of OMT on reducing length of stay in a population of pre-term infants. International Journal of Osteopathic Medicine. 2010;13(3):119
Gillespie BR. Case study in paediatric asthma: the corrective aspect of craniosacral fascial therapy. Explore (NY). 2008;4:48-51.
Gillespie BR. Case study in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: the corrective aspect of craniosacral fascial therapy. Explore (NY). 2009;5:296-8
Hayden C, Mullinger B. A preliminary assessment of the impact of cranial osteopathy for the relief of infantile colic. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice. 2006;12:83-90..
Lim KW. Infantile colic: A critical appraisal of the literature from an osteopathic perspective. International Journal of Osteopathic Medicine. 2006;9:94-102.
Lucassen PLBJ, Assendelft WJJ, van Eijk JThM, et al. Systematic review of the occurrence of infantile colic in the community. Archives of Disease in Childhood. 2001;84:398-403
Lucassen P. Colic in infants. Clinical Evidence. 2010;02:309 Madeline LA, Elster AD. Suture closure in the human chondrocranium: CT assessment. Radiology. 1995 ;196:747-756
Mills MV, Henley CE, Barnes LL, et al. The use of osteopathic manipulative treatment as adjuvant therapy in children with recurrent acute otitis media. Archives of Paediatric and Adolescent Medicine. 2003:157(9):861-6.
Sergueef N, Nelson KE, Glonek T. Palpatory diagnosis of plagiocephaly. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice. 2006;12(2):101-10.
Steele KM, Viola J, Burns E et al. Brief report of a clinical trial on the duration of middle ear effusion in young children using a standardised osteopathic manipulative medicine protocol. Journal of the American Osteopathic Association. 2010;110(5):278-84
Wahl RA, Aldous MB, Worden KA et al. Echinacea purpurea and osteopathic manipulative treatment in children with recurrent otitis media: a randomised controlled trial. BMC Complementary Medicine. 2008;8:56
Wyatt K, Edwards V, Franck L, et al. Cranial osteopathy for children with cerebral palsy: a randomised controlled trial. Archives of Disease in Childhood. 2011 Jun;96(6):505-12. Epub 2011 Feb 24.
Vandenplas Y, Denayer E, Vandenbossche T, et al. Osteopathy may decrease obstructive apnea in infants: a pilot study. Osteopathic Medicine in Primary care.
Vohra S, Johnston BC, Cramer K, et al. Adverse events associated with pediatric spinal manipulation: a systematic review. Pediatrics. 2007;119(1):e275-83.
Degenhardt BF, Kuchera ML. Osteopathic evaluation and manipulative treatment in reducing the morbidity of otitis media: a pilot study. Journal of the American Osteopathic Association. 2006;106(6):327-324.
Drengler KE, King HH. Interexaminer reliability of palpatory diagnosis of the cranium. Journal of the American Osteopathic Association. 1998;98:387
Green C et al. A systematic review of craniosacral therapy: biological plausibility, assessment reliability and clinical effectiveness. Complementary Therapies in Medicine. 1999; 7(4):201-7)
Hanten WP, Dawson DD, Iwata M, et al. Craniosacral rhythm: reliability and relationships with cardiac and respiratory rates. Journal of Orthopaedics and Sports Physical Therapy. 1998;27;213-218
Hartman SE. Cranial osteopathy: its fate seems clear. Chiropractic & Osteopathy. 2006, 14:10 , 2006
Hartman SE, Norton JM. Interexaminer reliability and cranial osteopathy. The Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine. 2002;6(1):23-34
Melsen B. Time and mode of closure of the spheno-occipital synchondrosis determined on human autopsy material. Acta Anatomica. 1972;83:112-118
Upledger JE. The reproducibility of craniosacral examination findings: a statistical analysis. Journal of the American Osteopathic Association. 1977;76:890-899. 2008;2:8.
Nelson KE, Sergueef N, Lipinski CM, et al. Cranial rhythmic impulse related to the Traube-Hering-Mayer oscillation: comparing laser-Doppler flowmetry and palpation. Journal of the American Osteopathic Association. 2001 Mar;101(3):163-73.
Norton JM. A challenge to the concept of craniosacral interaction. American Academy of Osteopathy Journal. 1996;6(4):15-21
Okomoto K, It J, Tokiguchi S, et al. High-resolution CT findings in the development of the sphenooccipital synchondrosis. American Journal of Neuroradiology. 1996;17:117-120
Pick MG (1994) A preliminary single case magnetic resonance imaging investigation into maxillary frontal-parietal manipulation and its short term effect upon the intracranial structures of an adult human brain. J Manipulative Physil Ther 17: 168-73
Rogers JS, Witt PL, Gross MT, et al. Simultaneous palpation of the craniosacral rate at the head and feet: intrarater and interrater reliability and rate comparisons. Physical Therapy. 1998;78:1175-1185
Sahni D, Jit I, Neelam A, et al. Time of fusion of the basisphenoid with the basilar part of the occipital bone in northwest Indian subjects. Forensic Science International. 1998;98:41-45
Sergueef N, Nelson KE, Glonek T. The effect of cranial manipulation on the Traube-Hering-Mayer oscillation as measured by laser-Doppler flowmetry. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine. 2002;8(6):74-6
Moran RW, Gibbons P. Intraexaminer and interexaminer reliability for palpation of the cranial rhythmic impulse at the head and sacrum. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. 2001;24(3):183-90.
Moskalenko IuE, Vainshtein GB, Riabchikova NA, et al. Interhemisphere asymmetry of the CSF dynamics and biomechanical properties of the skull. Ross Fiziol Zh Im I M Sechenova. 2010;96(10):1005-13.
Nelson KE, Sergueef N, Glonek T. Recording the rate of the cranial rhythmic impulse. Journal of the American Osteopathic Association. 2006;106(6):332
Wirth-Patullo V, Hayes KW. Interrater reliability of craniosacral rate measurements and their relationship with subjects’ and examiners’ heart and respiratory measurements. Physical Therapy. 1994;74:909-920-.
B Isbell and S Carroll (2007) The effectiveness of craniosacral treatment Fulcrum issue 41: 2-5. Also www.craniosacral.co.uk/articles/Effectiveness_CST_Isbell.pdf
Harrison RE, Page J Multipractitioner Upledger Craniosacral Therapy: Descriptive outcome study 2007 – 2008. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. Volume 17. Issue 1 2011: 13 – 17.
Castro-Sanchez A.M, Guillermo A Matara´ n-Pen˜ arrocha, Labraca N.A, Quesada-Rubio J.M, Granero-Molina J Moreno-Lorenzo C. A randomized controlled trial investigating the effects of craniosacral therapy on pain and heart rate variability in fibromyalgia patients. Clinical Rehabilitation. 2011; 25: 25–35
Linda A. Gardner, PhD, RN; Laura K. Hart, PhD, RN; and M Bridget Zimmerman. PhD “Craniosacral Still Point Technique Exploring its Effects in individuals with Dementia”. Journal of Gerontological Nursing. Vol 34. No. 3, 2008 www.slackjournals.com/article.aspx?rid=26916
Greenman PE, McPartland JM. Cranial findings and iatrogenesis from craniosacral manipulation in patients with traumatic brain syndrome. J Am Osteopath Assoc. 1995; 95(3):182-188.
Lancaster DG, Crow WT. Osteopathic manipulative treatment of a 26 year old woman with Bell’s palsy. J Am Osteopath Assoc. 2006;106:285-9
Milnes K, Moran RW. Physiological effects of a CV4 cranial osteopathic technique on autonomic nervous system function: A preliminary investigation. International Journal of Osteopathic Medicine. 2007;10(1):8-17 41
Raviv G, Shefi S, Nizani D, Achiron A Effect of craniosacral therapy on lower urinary tract signs and symptoms in multiple sclerosis. Complement Therapy Clinical Practise. 2009 May;15(2): 72-5.
Leach J. Osteopathic support for a survivor of gastric cancer: A case report. International Journal of Osteopathic Medicine. 2008;11:106-11
Mehi-Madrona L, Kigler B, Silverman S, Lynton H, Merrell W, “The impact of acupuncture and craniosacral therapy interventions on clinical outcomes in adults with asthma”. Explore (NY). 2007 Jan-Feb; 3(1) :28-36 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17234566/.
Vohra S, Feldman K, Johnston B, et al. Integrating complementary and alternative medicine into academic medical centers: experience and perceptions of nine leading centers in North America. BMC Health Services Research. 2005; 5:78.
This is what is known as anecdotal evidence, being specific to that client and that therapist and as such cannot be generalised to the population as a whole. Such case studies are of value in providing positive evidence and giving a sense of how effective CST treatments can be should larger scale trials be proven to support such effects.
Below are useful links for literature searching.
National Council for Osteopathic Research - www.brighton.ac.uk/ncor/
PubMed - www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/
The Medical Research Council - www.mrc.ac.uk/Ourresearch/index.htm
The Cochrane Collaboration – Complementary Medicine www2.cochrane.org/reviews/en/subtopics/22.html
Science Direct Database www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/15508307/
If you have any research funding suggestions or any other comments please email the Research Group Chairman at dellis26@btinternet.com.
CSTA Research Group
December 2011.
Back to the home page