Celebrate the Healing Power of a Gentle Touch:

Discover CranioSacral Therapy

We used to believe that all healthy foods taste bad and that to make “gain” you need to have “pain.” Those beliefs are now being challenged by delicious spa cuisine and less stressful methods of restoring wellness.

A standout among the popular methods that work with the body, instead of forcefully imposing changes upon it, is CranioSacral Therapy. A light-touch manual therapy, CranioSacral Therapy (CST) enhances the body’s natural healing processes. For nearly 30 years, it has been shown to be effective for a wide range of medical problems associated with pain and loss of function. CST is useful as both a primary treatment method or combined with other traditional or complementary techniques.

How CST works

The CranioSacral Therapy practitioner works with the patient to assist the body’s self-correcting mechanisms. Generally using about five grams of pressure, or about the weight of a nickel, the practitioner evaluates the body’s craniosacral system. This system plays the vital role of maintaining the environment in which the central nervous system functions. It consists of the membranes and fluid that surround and protect the brain and spinal cord as well as the attached bones — including the skull, face and mouth, which make up the cranium, and the tailbone area, or sacrum. Since the brain and spinal cord are contained with the central nervous system, it is easy to see that the craniosacral system has powerful influence over a wide variety of bodily functions.

The CranioSacral Therapy practitioner essentially helps the body release restrictions — which it has been unable to overcome on its own — that inhibit the body’s normal, self-correcting tendencies. Rather than deciding how these changes should be made, the therapist follows cues from the body on how to proceed. When the therapist follows this gentle approach, the method is extremely safe and effective. The few contraindications to CranioSacral Therapy are aneurysm, intracranial hemorrhage, and other conditions where altering intracranial fluid pressure is not recommended.

Benefits of CranioSacral Therapy

CranioSacral Therapy has been shown to alleviate a range of conditions, including infantile disorders, colic, traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries, migraine headaches, chronic fatigue, motor-coordination impairments, chronic neck and back pain, scoliosis, central nervous system disorders, emotional difficulties, temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ), learning disabilities, stress and tension-related problems, post-traumatic stress disorder and orthopedic problems.

While the focus of CST is to uncover the source of the problem, symptom relief also is achieved. The length of time and number of sessions needed is extremely variable and depends, among other factors, on the complex layers of injury and trauma that may mask the original cause of the problem as well as the body’s defense mechanisms.

Due to its gentleness and effectiveness, many people include CST as a component in their personal wellness program. They report having more energy, sleeping better and being sick less often.

The Foundations of CranioSacral Therapy

The original concepts for what is now known as the craniosacral system were put forth by osteopathic physician William Sutherland in the early part of this century. Dr. Sutherland’s studies culminated into a system of treatment known as Cranial Osteopathy.

Another osteopath, John E. Upledger, is credited with developing CranioSacral Therapy. While assisting during a surgery in 1970, Dr. Upledger observed a rhythmic movement of the dura mater, the membrane that encompasses the brain and spinal cord. Neither his colleagues nor medical texts could explain his observation. Dr. Upledger’s curiosity led him to the work of Dr. Sutherland, and later to develop his own scientific studies to confirm the existence of the craniosacral system. This work went on from 1975 to 1983, while he served as a clinical researcher and Professor of Biomechanics at Michigan State University. The findings of the research team he supervised first established the scientific basis for the craniosacral system.

Dr. Upledger’s continued work resulted in the development of CranioSacral Therapy, and he is known today as an authority in this field. He formed The Upledger Institute in 1985 to educate the public and healthcare practitioners about the benefits of CranioSacral Therapy. To date, The Institute has trained more than 50,000 healthcare practitioners worldwide in the use of CranioSacral Therapy. Practitioners include osteopaths, medical doctors, doctors of chiropractic, doctors of Oriental medicine, naturopathic physicians, psychiatric specialists, psychologists, dentists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, nurses, acupuncturists, massage therapists and other professional bodyworkers.

With a growing body of practitioners, CranioSacral Therapy provides a new healthcare option – one that uses a gentle approach working with the body. By following the body’s lead, the CST practitioner often can uncover the source of pain or dysfunction that can open the path to wellness.

Further Information

Your Inner Physician and You by John E. Upledger, D.O., O.M.M. (North Atlantic Books, Berkeley, Calif., and UI Enterprises, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., 1997) describes CranioSacral Therapy in greater detail and offers a number of case histories.

CranioSacral Therapy currently is practiced in more than 56 countries. For additional information please visit www.upledger.com or call The Upledger Institute at 1-800-233-5880.