Cranial Osteopathy

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Cranial Osteopathy was founded in the 1900s by an American osteopath named William Sutherland. Cranial osteopathy is often thought to be associated with the head and brain; however cranial osteopaths will work with your entire body as well as your head. This means that cranial osteopaths are able to treat a wide range of pain, symptoms and illnesses. Cranial osteopathy is thought to be particularly beneficial to babies and young children. This is due to the fact that cranial osteopathy is a much more subtle form of general osteopathy.

The Difference between Osteopathy and Cranial Osteopathy

The Cranial Osteopath is trained to feel much more subtle changes in your body and uses gentler methods to release tension. They use the cranial rhythm to diagnose your problem areas and gently move your cranial and spinal bones in order to treat your symptoms. The cranial rhythm (or involuntary movements) describes the regular pulses that cranial osteopaths can feel occurring in the fluid that surrounds your brain and spinal cord. They can associate minute changes in your cranial rhythm with pressure on the bones of the skull or an injury that exists on your body.

Diagnosis and Treatment Using Cranial Osteopathy

A typical cranial osteopathy session will begin with your cranial osteopath feeling your cranial rhythm by gentle touching around your skull. They will be able to compare your cranial rhythm to a “normal” cranial rhythm in order to diagnose and treat your symptoms. Cranial Osteopaths are able to associate particular patterns in your cranial rhythm with tension and strain in different areas of your body. Your cranial osteopath will gently move the bones in your skull and spine in order to increase your blood flow and allow lymphatic fluid and sinus fluid to drain. 

The gentle nature of cranial osteopathy will leave you feeling relaxed and the treatment will relief tension and stress in your body that may have been building up for some time.

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