Cranio-Sacral Osteopathy

The extremely passive cranio-sacral therapy form of Osteopathy relies on the trained hands of the cranial Osteopath being able to feel the 'cranial rhythm', the rhythmical pulsing of the brain and the fluids around it discovered by Dr Sutherland, an Osteopath of earlier this century. It is particularly useful for general unspecified malaise, gastro-intestinal disturbances, stress and depression problems, stress illnesses (such as asthma), children and babies, womens period hormonal problems, and patients who need Osteopathy but are nervous of the more standard Osteopathic techniques.

This approach is gradually increasing in acceptance within the Osteopathic world and in popularity with patients, and is taught to qualified Osteopaths at The Sutherland School of Osteopathy as a post graduate qualification from which our specialist cranial Osteopath at the Carlton Clinic, has graduated and he specialises in this discipline of Osteopathy for the clinic.

We expect a lot from our bodies. We expect them to cope with many different stresses such as poor diet, insufficient exercise, overworking as well as recovering from injuries and traumas. In most cases it is not until they begin to give trouble that we even consider them at all. Osteopaths are like car mechanics, in that we rebalance and "fine tune" the body so that it lasts longer and runs more efficiently.

The basic principles of Osteopathy are:

1. The body has an inherent ability to maintain itself in a state of health.

2. Structure governs function - i.e. if an area of the body is not structurally sound, it cannot function normally.

3. An area of the body receiving poor blood supply is liable to develop disease.

We owe our present understanding of Osteopathy to two men, Dr. Still and Dr. Sutherland, who both had tremendous vision and dedication, and developed an understanding of the body that was way ahead of their time. It is only in recent years that science has begun to recognise and explain what they new intuitively all those years ago.

The science of Osteopathy was introduced by Dr. Andrew Still in 1874. He founded the first school of Osteopathy in Kirkville, Missouri in the USA in 1892. Dr. William Garner Sutherland, spent much of his life developing Dr. Still's principles of Osteopathy. He discovered that the 26 bones making up the skull where intricately jointed in such a way as to permit very slight motion. He understood that this was in order to permit a rhythmical and very slight expansion/contraction of the brain inside.

Dr. Sutherland discovered that it was possible to detect variation in frequency, amount and quality of cyclical motion between different patients and even in the same patient depending on the age, state of general health, emotional state and history of specific injury. This discovery of cranial motion led onto the understanding that this "involuntary motion" of the skull and it's contents is present in all parts of the body, and is a basic property of living tissue. When body tissues are subject to trauma such as accidents, this involuntary motion is disrupted. Disruption in the normal pattern of motion can persist for many years, even for life and form the basis of "tissue memory" that Osteopaths often refer to. An Osteopath has a highly developed sense of palpation, and is trained to detect and asses the dynamic state of the body tissues. "Cranial Osteopathy" is the name given to the approach of Osteopathy developed by Dr. Sutherland.

What does Cranial Treatment feel like?

He/she may feel sensations of pressure either under the Osteopath's hands or elsewhere, or a sensation of localised warmth as a release and relaxation is achieved in the tissues. Overall most patients feel that gradually the tension is being drawn out of their body, and they become deeply relaxed. It is common to feel a degree of light-headedness for a few minutes after a treatment.

Consultation: appointment by telephone 01293 784200

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