Craniosacral therapy

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Craniosacral therapy (CST)
  • Cranial-sacral therapy
  • Cranial osteopathy
  • Cranial therapy
  • Craniopathy
  • Sacro-occipital technique
  • Bio-cranial therapy
Kraniosakralni terapie - biodynamika.jpg
Craniosacral therapy
Alternative therapy
NCCIH Classification Manipulation and body-based
School Osteopathy

Craniosacral therapy (CST) or cranial osteopathy is a form of alternative medicine that uses gentle touch to feel non-existent rhythmic movements of the skull's bones and supposedly adjust the immovable joints of the skull to achieve a therapeutic result. CST is a pseudoscience and its practice has been characterized as quackery. [1] [2] It is based on fundamental misconceptions about the anatomy and physiology of the human skull and is promoted as a cure-all for a variety of health conditions. [3] [4] [5]

Contents

Medical research has found no significant evidence that either CST or cranial osteopathy confers any health benefit, and attempts to manipulate the bones of the skull can be harmful, particularly for children or infants. [4] [6] [7] The basic assumptions of CST are not true, and practitioners produce conflicting and mutually exclusive diagnoses of the same patients. [8]

Effectiveness and safety

Practitioners of CST claim it is effective in treating a wide range of conditions, sometimes claiming it is a cancer cure, or a cure-all. [3] [5] [7] Practitioners particularly advocate the use of CST on children. [5] The American Cancer Society cautions that CST should never be used on children under age two. [4] Pediatricians have expressed concern at the harm CST can cause to children and infants. [7]

There is no evidence that CST is of use for people with autism and its use is potentially harmful. [9] As of 2018 at least two deaths had been reported resulting from CST spinal manipulation. [10] In a small study, participants with head injuries suffered worsening symptoms as a result of CST. [4] Additionally, if used as the sole treatment for serious health conditions, choosing CST can have serious adverse consequences; the American Cancer Society recommends those with cancer or chronic conditions should consult their doctor before starting any therapy consisting of manual manipulation. [4]

According to the American Cancer Society, although CST may relieve the symptoms of stress or tension, "available scientific evidence does not support claims that craniosacral therapy helps in treating cancer or any other disease". [4] Cranial osteopathy has received a similar assessment, with one 1990 paper finding there was no scientific basis for any of the practitioners' claims the paper examined. [6]

The evidence base for CST is sparse and lacks a demonstrated biologically plausible mechanism. In the absence of rigorous, well-designed randomized controlled trials, [11] [12] it is a pseudoscience, [2] and its practice quackery. [1] Tests show that CST practitioners cannot in fact identify the purported craniosacral pulse, and different practitioners will get different results for the same patient. [13] The idea of a craniosacral rhythm cannot be scientifically supported. [14]

Systematic reviews

In October 2012, Edzard Ernst conducted a systematic review of randomized clinical trials of craniosacral therapy. He concluded that "the notion that CST is associated with more than non-specific effects is not based on evidence from rigorous randomised clinical trials." [15] Commenting specifically on this conclusion, Ernst wrote on his blog that he had chosen the wording as "a polite and scientific way of saying that CST is bogus." [5] Ernst also remarked that the quality of five of the six trials he had reviewed was "deplorably poor," a sentiment that echoed an August 2012 review that noted the "moderate methodological quality of the included studies." [16]

Ernst criticized a 2011 systematic review performed by Jakel and von Hauenschild for including observational studies and including studies with healthy volunteers. [15] This review concluded that the evidence base surrounding craniosacral therapy and its efficacy was sparse and composed of studies with heterogeneous design. The authors of this review stated that currently available evidence was insufficient to draw conclusions. [17]

A 2019 systematic review found limited evidence that CST may bring some relief for up to six months for people with chronic pain. [18] However, the conclusions of this study were disputed by the Office for Science and Society at McGill University due to the poor methodological quality of the individual studies that made up the analysis. [19]

Regulation

Edzard Ernst wrote that in 2005 in the United Kingdom, a foundation of then-Prince Charles issued a booklet listing CST as one of several popular alternative therapies, but admitted that the therapy was unregulated and lacked either a defined training program or the oversight of a professional body. Ernst wrote that this makes the therapists practising CST "less regulated than publicans." [20]

History

Cranial osteopathy, a forerunner of CST, was devised in the 1930s by William Garner Sutherland. [4] [21] While looking at a disarticulated skull, Sutherland was struck by the idea that the cranial sutures of the temporal bones where they meet the parietal bones were "beveled, like the gills of a fish, indicating articular mobility for a respiratory mechanism." [16]

CST was invented by John Upledger, as an offshoot of cranial osteopathy. [4] [21] From 1975 to 1983, Upledger and neurophysiologist and histologist Ernest W. Retzlaff worked at Michigan State University as clinical researchers and professors. They assembled a research team to investigate the purported pulse and further study Sutherland's theory of cranial bone movement. [22] [23] [24] Later, independent reviews of these studies concluded that they presented no good evidence for the effectiveness of craniosacral therapy or the existence of the proposed cranial bone movement. [25]

Conceptual basis

Practitioners of both cranial osteopathy and CST assert that there are small, rhythmic motions of the cranial bones attributed to cerebrospinal fluid pressure or arterial pressure. The premise of CST is that palpation of the cranium can be used to detect this rhythmic movement of the cranial bones and selective pressures may be used to manipulate the cranial bones to achieve a therapeutic result. [26] However, there is no evidence that the bones of the human skull can be moved by such manipulations. [25]

The fundamental concepts of cranial osteopathy and CST are inconsistent with the human skull, brain, and spine's known anatomy and physiology. [4] Edzard Ernst has written "to anyone understanding a bit of physiology, anatomy etc. [CST] looks like pure nonsense." [5]

In common with many other varieties of alternative medicine, CST practitioners believe all illness is caused by energy or fluid blockages which can be released by physical manipulation. [7] They believe that the bones of the skull move in a rhythmic pattern which they can detect and correct. [7]

The therapist lightly palpates the patient's body, and focuses intently on the communicated movements. A practitioner's feeling of being in tune with a patient is described as entrainment. [27]

Comparing CST to cranial osteopathy, Upledger wrote: "Dr. Sutherland's discovery regarding the flexibility of skull sutures led to the early research behind CranioSacral Therapy– and both approaches affect the cranium, sacrum and coccyx– the similarities end there." [28] However, modern-day cranial osteopaths largely consider the two practices to be the same, but that cranial osteopathy has "been taught to non-osteopaths under the name CranialSacral therapy." [29]

Related Research Articles

Alternative medicine is any practice that aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine despite lacking biological plausibility, testability, repeatability or evidence of effectiveness. Unlike modern medicine, which employs the scientific method to test plausible therapies by way of responsible and ethical clinical trials, producing repeatable evidence of either effect or of no effect, alternative therapies reside outside of mainstream medicine and do not originate from using the scientific method, but instead rely on testimonials, anecdotes, religion, tradition, superstition, belief in supernatural "energies", pseudoscience, errors in reasoning, propaganda, fraud, or other unscientific sources. Frequently used terms for relevant practices are New Age medicine, pseudo-medicine, unorthodox medicine, holistic medicine, fringe medicine, and unconventional medicine, with little distinction from quackery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chiropractic</span> Form of pseudoscientific alternative medicine

Chiropractic is a form of alternative medicine concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, especially of the spine. It is based on several pseudoscientific ideas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Osteopathy</span> Alternative medicine emphasizing muscle and bone manipulation

Osteopathy, unlike osteopathic medicine, which is a branch of the medical profession in the United States, is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine that emphasizes physical manipulation of the body's muscle tissue and bones. In most countries, practitioners of osteopathy are not medically trained and are referred to as osteopaths.

Magnetic therapy is a pseudoscientific alternative medicine practice involving the weak static magnetic field produced by a permanent magnet which is placed on the body. It is similar to the alternative medicine practice of electromagnetic therapy, which uses a magnetic field generated by an electrically powered device. Magnet therapy products may include wristbands, jewelry, blankets, and wraps that have magnets incorporated into them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reiki</span> Pseudoscientific healing technique

Reiki is a pseudoscientific form of energy healing, a type of alternative medicine originating in Japan. Reiki practitioners use a technique called palm healing or hands-on healing through which, according to practitioners, a "universal energy" is transferred through the palms of the practitioner to the client, to encourage emotional or physical healing. It is based on qi ("chi"), which practitioners say is a universal life force, although there is no empirical evidence that such a life force exists.

Osteopathic medicine is a branch of the medical profession in the United States that promotes the practice of science-based medicine, often referred to in this context as allopathic medicine, with a set of philosophy and principles set by its earlier form, osteopathy. Osteopathic physicians (DOs) are graduates of American osteopathic medical colleges and are licensed to practice the full scope of medicine and surgery in all 50 U.S. states. The field is distinct from osteopathic practices offered in nations outside of the U.S.—in which practitioners are generally considered neither parts of core medical staff nor of medicine itself; rather, they are considered alternative medicine practitioners. The other major branch of medicine in the United States is referred to by practitioners of osteopathic medicine as allopathic medicine.

Orthomolecular medicine is a form of alternative medicine that claims to maintain human health through nutritional supplementation. It is rejected by evidence-based medicine. The concept builds on the idea of an optimal nutritional environment in the body and suggests that diseases reflect deficiencies in this environment. Treatment for disease, according to this view, involves attempts to correct "imbalances or deficiencies based on individual biochemistry" by use of substances such as vitamins, minerals, amino acids, trace elements and fatty acids. The notions behind orthomolecular medicine are not supported by sound medical evidence, and the therapy is not effective for chronic disease prevention; even the validity of calling the orthomolecular approach a form of medicine has been questioned since the 1970s.

Therapeutic touch (TT), or non-contact therapeutic touch (NCTT), is a pseudoscientific energy therapy which practitioners claim promotes healing and reduces pain and anxiety. "Therapeutic Touch" is a registered trademark in Canada for the "[s]tructured and standardized healing practice performed by practitioners trained to be sensitive to the receiver's energy field that surrounds the body;...no touching is required."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cupping therapy</span> Pseudoscience whereby suction is applied to the skin

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Manual therapy, or manipulative therapy, is a treatment primarily used by physical therapists and occupational therapists to treat musculoskeletal pain and disability. It mostly includes kneading and manipulation of muscles, joint mobilization and joint manipulation. It is also used by Rolfers, massage therapists, athletic trainers, osteopaths, and physicians.

Anthroposophic medicine is a form of alternative medicine based on pseudoscientific and occult notions. Devised in the 1920s by Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925) in conjunction with Ita Wegman (1876–1943), anthroposophical medicine draws on Steiner's spiritual philosophy, which he called anthroposophy. Practitioners employ a variety of treatment techniques based upon anthroposophic precepts, including massage, exercise, counselling, and administration of substances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edzard Ernst</span> German academic physician and researcher (born 1948)

Edzard Ernst is a retired British-German academic physician and researcher specializing in the study of complementary and alternative medicine. He was Professor of Complementary Medicine at the University of Exeter, the world's first such academic position in complementary and alternative medicine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Energy medicine</span> Pseudo-scientific alternative medicine

Energy medicine is a branch of alternative medicine based on a pseudo-scientific belief that healers can channel "healing energy" into patients and effect positive results. The field is defined by shared beliefs and practices relating to mysticism and esotericism in the wider alternative medicine sphere rather than any sort of unified terminology, leading to terms such as energy healing, vibrational medicine, and similar terms being used synonymously. In most cases, no empirically measurable "energy" is involved: the term refers instead to so-called subtle energy. Practitioners may classify their practice as hands-on, hands-off, or distant wherein the patient and healer are in different locations. Many approaches to energy healing exist: for example, “biofield energy healing”, “spiritual healing”, “contact healing”, “distant healing”, therapeutic touch, Reiki, and Qigong.

William Garner Sutherland, D.O. (1873–1954) was an American osteopathic physician and important figure in American osteopathic medicine. Several of his manual therapy techniques are still practiced today by practitioners of osteopathy, although craniosacral therapy is regarded as pseudoscience by the medical community. Sutherland was the first osteopathic physician to conceptualize the cranial approach and teach it systematically. However, Sutherland acknowledged Andrew Taylor Still as the developer of all osteopathy, including the cranial approach. Sutherland was the first person to claim to feel a rhythmic shape change in the bones of the cranium. He later applied this movement to all body tissues and this movement is the agent of change in dysfunctional tissues. He later named this motion the body's "Primary Respiration."

Osteomyology is a multi-disciplined form of alternative medicine found almost exclusively in the United Kingdom and is loosely based on aggregated ideas from other manipulation therapies, principally chiropractic and osteopathy. It is a results-based physical therapy tailored specifically to the needs of the individual patient. Osteomyologists have been trained in osteopathy and chiropractic, but do not require to be regulated by the General Osteopathic Council (GOsC) or the General Chiropractic Council (GCC).

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Friends of Science in Medicine</span> Australian association which supports science-based medicine

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Alternative medicine is a term often used to describe medical practices where are untested or untestable. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), integrated medicine or integrative medicine (IM), functional medicine, and holistic medicine are among many rebrandings of the same phenomenon.

References

  1. 1 2
    • Aronoff, George R., ed. (1999). Evaluation and Treatment of Chronic Pain (3rd ed.). Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. p. 571. ISBN   978-0-683-30149-6.
    • Barrett, Stephen (15 May 2004). "Why Cranial Therapy Is Silly". Quackwatch. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
    • Gorski D (23 June 2014). "Ketogenic diet does not 'beat chemo for almost all cancers'". Science-Based Medicine . it is quite obvious that modalities such as homeopathy, acupuncture, reflexology, craniosacral therapy, Hulda Clark's "zapper," the Gerson therapy and Gonzalez protocol for cancer, and reiki (not to mention every other "energy healing" therapy) are the rankest quackery
  2. 1 2
  3. 1 2 Crislip M (16 December 2011). "Alas poor Craniosacral. A SCAM of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy". Science-Based Medicine . In reality what do CST practitioners do? They lightly massage your head. To treat everything from Downs to headache to PMS. It is an all purpose diagnostic and therapeutic intervention, like all SCAMs.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Russell J, Rovere A, eds. (2009). "Craniosacral Therapy" . American Cancer Society Complete Guide to Complementary and Alternative Cancer Therapies (2nd ed.). American Cancer Society. pp.  187–189. ISBN   9780944235713.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Ernst, Edzard (12 December 2012). "Up the garden path: craniosacral therapy".
  6. 1 2 Ferré, J. C.; Chevalier, C.; Lumineau, J. P.; Barbin, J. Y. (1 September 1990). "[Cranial osteopathy, delusion or reality?]". Actualités Odonto-Stomatologiques. 44 (171): 481–494. ISSN   0001-7817. PMID   2173359.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Cassileth BR (2011). "Chapter 42: Craniosacral Therapy". The Complete Guide to Complementary Therapies in Cancer Care: Essential Information for Patients, Survivors and Health Professionals. World Scientific. pp. 247–250. ISBN   978-981-4335-16-4.
  8. ↑ "Craniosacral Therapy: Does it Work?". www.PainScience.com. 2 July 2021.
  9. ↑ Pavone L, Ruggieri M (2005). "Chapter 9: The Problem of Alternative Therapies in Autism". In Coleman, M (ed.). Neurology of Autism. Oxford University Press. p. 189. According to our opinion and experience in the field of autism, there is no scientific justification for this approach. Furthermore, this method could be harmful.
  10. ↑ Daelemans S, Peeters L, Hauser B, Vandenplas Y (2018). "Recent advances in understanding and managing infantile colic". F1000Res (Review). 7: 1426. doi: 10.12688/f1000research.14940.1 . ISSN   2046-1402. PMC   6134333 . PMID   30271572.
  11. ↑ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (2012). "Best evidence statement (BESt). Craniosacral therapy for children with autism and/or sensory processing disorder". U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
  12. ↑ "Craniosacral Therapy". Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee Medical Policy Manual. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee. 2012. Archived from the original on 22 September 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
  13. ↑ O'Donoghue, Paul (6 January 2006). "Cranial therapy is just a hare-brained theory". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 6 December 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
  14. ↑ Schwarcz, Joe (20 March 2017). "People who opt for craniosacral therapy should have their head examined". Office for Science and Society. McGill University. Archived from the original on 17 June 2024. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
  15. 1 2 Ernst, Edzard (2012). "Craniosacral therapy: A systematic review of the clinical evidence". Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies. 17 (4): 197–201. doi:10.1111/j.2042-7166.2012.01174.x.
  16. 1 2 Jäkel, Anne; Von Hauenschild, Philip (2012). "A systematic review to evaluate the clinical benefits of craniosacral therapy". Complementary Therapies in Medicine. 20 (6): 456–65. doi:10.1016/j.ctim.2012.07.009. PMID   23131379.
  17. ↑ Jäkel, Anne; Von Hauenschild, Phillip (2011). "Therapeutic Effects of Cranial Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine: A Systematic Review". The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association. 111 (12): 685–93. PMID   22182954. Archived from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  18. ↑ Haller H, Lauche R, Sundberg T, Dobos G, Cramer H (December 2019). "Craniosacral therapy for chronic pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials". BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 21 (1): 1. doi: 10.1186/s12891-019-3017-y . PMC   6937867 . PMID   31892357.
  19. ↑ Jarry M.Sc., Jonathan (6 February 2020). "Even the Best Scientific Studies Can Lie: The Case of Craniosacral Therapy". Office for Science and Society.
  20. ↑ Ernst E, Rose LB (2008). "CAM and Politics". Healing, Hype or Harm? A Critical Analysis of Complementary or Alternative Medicine. Societas Imprint Academic. pp. 102–3.
  21. 1 2 "Craniosacral Therapy". UPMC Center for Integrative Medicine. 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
  22. ↑ Upledger, John E (1995). "Craniosacral Therapy". Physical Therapy. 75 (4): 328–30. doi:10.1093/ptj/75.4.328. PMID   7899490.[ permanent dead link ]
  23. ↑ Upledger, JE (1978). "The relationship of craniosacral examination findings in grade school children with developmental problems". The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association. 77 (10): 760–76. PMID   659282.
  24. ↑ Upledger, JE; Karni, Z (1979). "Mechano-electric patterns during craniosacral osteopathic diagnosis and treatment". The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association. 78 (11): 782–91. PMID   582820.
  25. 1 2 Green, C.; Martin, C.W.; Bassett, K.; Kazanjian, A. (1999). "A systematic review of craniosacral therapy: Biological plausibility, assessment reliability and clinical effectiveness". Complementary Therapies in Medicine. 7 (4): 201–7. doi:10.1016/S0965-2299(99)80002-8. PMID   10709302.
  26. ↑ Seimetz, Christina N.; Kemper, Andrew R.; Duma, Stefan M. (2012). "An investigation of cranial motion through a review of biomechanically based skull deformation literature". International Journal of Osteopathic Medicine. 15 (4): 152–65. doi:10.1016/j.ijosm.2012.05.001.
  27. ↑ McPartland, JM; Mein, EA (1997). "Entrainment and the cranial rhythmic impulse". Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine. 3 (1): 40–5. PMID   8997803.
  28. ↑ Upledger, John E. (2002). "CranioSacral Therapy vs. Cranial Osteopathy: Differences Divide". Massage Today. 2 (10).
  29. ↑ Ferguson, A.J.; Upledger, John E.; McPartland, John M.; Collins, M.; Lever, R. (1998). "Cranial osteopathy and craniosacral therapy: current opinions". Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies. 2 (1): 28–37. doi:10.1016/s1360-8592(98)80044-2.
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