BACKGROUND

CranioSacral Therapy ( CST) is a gentle form of touch therapy, founded on the belief that focus, resourcing and gentleness are the foundations of healing. Stillness, creating a safe space and working in a non-judgemental manner are key elements to its practice. Because it engages with the central nervous system and works with the innate system of health within the body, it is effective in facilitating shifts leading to healing, and the stimulation of the immune system. CST has proven effective in areas of trauma recovery.

CST is described by Wikipedia as a method of complementary and alternative medicine used by massage therapists, naturopaths, chiropractors, osteopaths, occupational therapists, physical therapists, nurses, dentists, and doctors who manually apply subtle movements of the spinal and cranial bones to bring the central nervous system into harmony and balance.

THE CRANIOSACRAL SYSTEM

The CranioSacral system can be described as 'housing' for the central nervous system. This system is protected by the bones of the skull, the vertebrae, and the sacrum. Inside this bony outer boundary are membranes and cerebrospinal fluid that surround and protect the brain and spinal cord.

Just like the respiratory system or the cardiovascular system, the CranioSacral system is a physiological system that has its own rhythm. This rhythm is created by the production and reabsorption of cerebrospinal fluid. The volume of fluid in the system is constantly changing; rising and falling at a rate of about six to twelve cycles per minute. This rhythmic motion helps to circulate cerebrospinal fluid around the system. This is important given its many functions, including:

• Providing nutrients to the brain and spinal cord
• Removing metabolic waste products
• Acting as a shock absorber
• Creating buoyancy to reduce the effects of gravity on the brain 
• Maintaining an environment that supports good nerve transmission

Restrictions within the system can affect functions of the brain and spinal cord, visual and auditory systems, motor coordination, the endocrine and immune systems.

HISTORY

The original concepts for CranialSacral Therapy were advanced by osteopathic physician William Sutherland in the early 1900's. Dr. Sutherland's studies were formalised into a system of treatment known as Cranial Osteopathy.

In 1970 osteopath Dr. John E. Upledger observed during a surgical procedure on the neck what he described as a slow pulsating movement within the spinal meninges. He attempted to hold the membrane still and found that he could not due to the strength of the action behind the movement. Neither his colleagues nor medical texts could explain his observation. Dr. Upledger's research led him to the work of Dr. Sutherland, and later to develop his own scientific studies. This work was conducted 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 established the first scientific basis for the CranialSacral Therapy system.

In recent years four approaches have been identified and developed in schools of Craniosacral Therapy. They are :

• biomechanic
• functional
• somato-emotional
• biodynamic

TREATMENT

Both diagnosis and treatment in CST are accomplished through the faculties of palpation and touch which are gentle and non-invasive in their application.

FULCRUMS

All forms of motion in the body are organised around a fulcrum: (the point around which things move.)

The midline of the body acts as a natural fulcrum around which the essential health carried in the rhythms of Primary Respiratory (*PRI ) motion is expressed. When faced with stress, trauma and/or injury, a primary physiological response of tissues is to contract. These tissue contractions can remain if the body's resources for repair and rebalancing are overwhelmed. When this happens the body tries to centre the forces in inertial fulcrums. Dr Rollin Becker states that the trapped potency found within each inertial fulcrum is the essential factor at work at the core of every condition of ill health.
Exactly how the body responds to new events or experiences is largely determined by what has gone before. Each new overwhelming experience may diminish the amount of vitality that is available to deal with the next. As a result someone who is already traumatised, retaining deeply held or numerous inertial fulcrums, may reach a point of overwhelm after only a minor new stress or stimulus. Thus, the presence of unresolved stress provides a fertile ground for new ones to accumulate.

If a nerve is already stimulated (for example due to compression), the threshold required for it to conduct an impulse can become lowered. Spinal nerves are often affected in this way, caused by the pressure from restrictions. If the effects of injury are unresolved, the nerves may remain in a constant state of irritation. As the threshold required for them to conduct impulses is lowered, they become prone to over activity. This may cause irritable impulses to be sent to the spinal cord, leading to facilitated segments of the spine. This in turn causes irritable nerve impulses to the stomach, called a somato-visceral reflex and can result in digestive sensitivities, indigestion, inflammation and / or ulcers. Breathing difficulties, heart problems, urinary and reproductive disorders may also result from facilitation of the spine.

Doing something to a problem is technique; working with an inherent mechanism within the problem is an application of a principle - not a technique. In CST conversation skills are used to support the expression of intrinsic health found at the centre of every inertial fulcrum. With an indirect approach of treatment, tissues are followed into their direction of preference. This is the pathway along which tissue or bone can most easily express its primary respiratory motion (*PRI ), despite the presence of inertia. It is also the path of least resistance. This is described as an unlatching principle. It is like opening a tight door latch, where it may first be necessary to follow the closure. When the tissues are followed into their direction of preference, this can facilitate a permanent release of inertia. When given the space, the self-corrective forces of the body have an opportunity to come back into play.

The processes of healing are never just about identifying problems, but involve accessing the resources that can help resolve problems. A person is never just the pattern of their trauma. People can however get stuck in an experience. When this happens the trauma pattern becomes a major fulcrum with which people identify themselves and shape their lives. Trauma remains for as long as the sufferers are unable to access the resources to complete the process of discharge. Essentially it is not a memory of the past but an experience carried into the present. Traumatic experiences which have not yet reached a satisfactory point of completion and resolution become perpetuated as a physiological pattern. Much of unresolved energy of a traumatised person ends up being trapped in their nervous system.

STILL POINTS

The parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems alternate in their function. The degree to which the sympathetic branch is activated, is the degree to which the parasympathetic system cannot function. Dr James Jealous attributes eighty percent or more of disease and illness to an imbalance in this interchange. The encouragement of still points in the cranial rhythmic impulse facilitates a parasympathetic response which serves to equalise the imbalance. The principal approach of building resources in craniosacral work is done by the facilitation of still points.

A still point is a period of deep physiological rest for the body during which there is a temporary cessation of the cranial rhythmic impulse (CRI). As the CRI settles the inherent fluctuation of cerebrospinal fluid, the flexion / extension and external internal rotation of tissues comes to rest. Dr Becker states:
“ The stillness is that which centres every molecule of being of the living body. The body physiology is the outward expression of that stillness. They are in total unity, in balanced interchange. Health is related to a return to the freedom of interchange between body physiology and stillness.”

In CST one of the ways a still point is encouraged is at the occiput via a compression of the fourth ventricle ( CV4 ). This is done by encouraging a resting period in the exhalation / extension phase of craniosacral motion. The fourth ventricle constitutes one of the CSF filled spaces in the brain. Many of the vital nerve centres of the parasympathetic nervous system are found in the walls of the fourth ventricle and their proper functioning is dependent on the supply of potentized CSF.

CONDITIONS

The gentleness and non-invasive approach of CST make it an appropriate therapy for all ages and many conditions. There are particular benefits to the young to whom the calm, secure approach of CST is suited. Children are readily able to relax within the therapy and become involved with their own recovery.  CST is additionally respectful of their physiology, often lessening over time the need for chemical interventions with problematic side effects.
Medical conditions for which CST has shown to be effective include allergies, auditory difficulties such as tinnitus and middle ear problems, autism, behavioural problems, brain and spinal cord injuries, central nervous system disorders, cerebral palsy, developmental problems, delayed recovery from medical intervention, emotional difficulties, injuries and post-operative problems, learning disabilities, such as ADD and dyslexia, motor co-ordination difficulties, respiratory problems such as asthma and bronchitis, and vision disturbances. It is also a particularly suitable therapy for conditions where other forms of treatment may be contra-indicated or uncomfortable to receive. It may be indicated for neo-natal care for example, birth trauma, and behavioural distortions generated by chronic stress and shock. CST is unusual in offering genuine, client-led therapy.

* PRI differs from the secondary respiration of the lungs.
Primary Respiration manifests as the inherent motility of the brain and spinal cord, the articular mobility of the cranial bones, the fluctuation of the cerebrospinal fluid, the mobility of the meningeal membranes, and an involuntary mobility of the sacrum between the iliac bones of the pelvis.)