What is Craniosacral Therapy and How Does it Work?

I am often asked what craniosacral therapy is, and how it affects the body. To answer this, we must first take a look at some of the structures in and around the brain and the spinal cord.

The brain functions as the control centre of our bodies, allowing us to integrate incoming sensory information from the body and produce a desired result, such as motion. This incoming and outgoing information to and from the brain is transmitted via the spinal cord, a very important structure housed within the vertebrae that make up our spine.

This is a view of the brain and spinal cord, from the side. Note the arrows showing the flow of cerebrospinal fluid between the membranous meningeal layers.

Surrounding the brain and spinal cord is a physiological system called the craniosacral system. This system is comprised of three layers of meningeal membranes as well as cerebrospinal fluid, a liquid that surrounds and protects the brain and spinal cord.

So…what is craniosacral therapy then? Craniosacral therapy is a gentle, hands-on method of assessing and enhancing the mobility or movement of these membranous layers and the fluid between them. If these membranes become restricted and lose their fluid quality, it can lead not only to dysfunction locally but also elsewhere in the body.

Let’s look at an example of a whiplash injury to see how this can come to be. Whiplash is an acceleration-deceleration injury affecting the head and neck, and is often associated with motor vehicle accidents or traumatic falls, such as with skiing, biking, etc.

In these injuries, a local restriction is often introduced into the membranous layers mentioned above in the patient’s cervical region or neck. Initially, this might present with more obvious symptoms such as local neck pain and movement restrictions in the neck.

Given that these membranes are continuous around the entire brain and spinal cord, over time these symptoms may shift elsewhere in the body. For example, given that these membranous layers anchor within the sacral canal (the triangular shaped bone at the base of your spine), this may give rise to low back and/or pelvic pain. For many patients this pain tends to arise months after the initial whiplash symptoms have disappeared, and may be seemingly unrelated. Unfortunately without addressing the membranous meningeal restriction within the neck, treating the low back and pelvic pain may prove futile.

As you can see, maintaining functionality of the membranous layers and fluid dynamics within the craniosacral system is extremely beneficial and can play a key role in resolving long-standing post-traumatic injuries.

References:

Upledger, John E. and Vredevoogd, Jon D. Craniosacral Therapy., Eastland Press., 1993

Netter, Frank. Atlas of Human Anatomy., 7th Edition., Elsevier Inc., 2019