Research, Articles & Case Studies

Abstract 

Background: The objective of this study was to investigate neurological short-term effects of craniosacral therapy as an ideal form of osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) due to the soft kinaesthetic stimulation. 

Methods: Included were 30 preterm infants, with a gestational age between 25 and 33 weeks, who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit of the University Hospital of Graz, Austria. The infants were randomized either into the intervention group (IG) which received standardised craniosacral therapy, or the control group (CG) which received standard care. To guarantee that only preterm infants with subsequent normal neurodevelopment were included, follow up was done regularly at the corrected age (= actual age in weeks minus weeks premature) of 12 and 24 months. After 2 years 5 infants had to be excluded (IG; n = 12; CG: n = 13). 

General Movements (GMs) are part of the spontaneous movement repertoire and are present from early fetal life onwards until the end of the first half year of life. To evaluate the immediate result of such an intervention, we selected the General Movement Assessment (GMA) as an appropriate tool. Besides the global GMA (primary outcome) we used as detailed GMA, the General Movement Optimality Score (GMOS- secondary outcome), based on Prechtl's optimality concept. To analyse GMOS (secondary outcome) a linear mixed model with fixed effects for session, time point (time point refers to the comparisons of the measurements before vs. after each session) and intervention (IG vs. CG), random effect for individual children and a first order autoregressive covariance structure was used for calculation of significant differences between groups and interactions. Following interaction terms were included in the model: session*time point, session*intervention, time point*intervention and session*time point*intervention. Exploratory post hoc analyses (interaction: session*time point*intervention) were performed to determine group differences for all twelve measurement (before and after all 6 sessions) separately. 

Results: Between groups no difference in the global GMA (primary outcome) could be observed. 

The GMOS (secondary outcome) did not change from session to session (main effect session: p = 0.262) in the IG or the CG. Furthermore no differences between IG and CG (main effect group: p = 0.361) and no interaction of time*session could be observed (p = 0.658). Post hoc analysis showed a trend toward higher values before (p = 0.085) and after (p = 0.075) the first session in CG compared to IG. At all other time points GMOS were not significantly different between groups. 

Conclusion: We were able to indicate that a group of "healthy" preterm infants undergoing an intervention with craniosacral therapy (IG) showed no significant changes in GMs compared to preterm infants without intervention (CG). In view of the fact that the global GMA (primary outcome) showed no difference between groups and the GMOS (detailed GMA-secondary outcome) did not deteriorate in the IG, craniosacral therapy seems to be safe in preterm infants. 

The Theory on the glymphatic convection mechanism of serebrospinal fluid holds that cardiac pulsations in part pump cerebrospinal fluid from the Peri-arterial spaces through the extracellular tissue into peri-venous spaces facilitated by aguaporin water channels. Since cardiac pulses cannot be the sole mechanism of glymphatic propulsion, we searched for additional cerebrospinal fluid pulsations in the human brain with ultra-fast magnetic resonance ecephalography. We detected three types of physiological mechanisms affecting cerebral cerebrospinal fluid pulsations: cardiac, respiratory, and very low frequency pulsations. The cardiac pulsations induce a negative magnetic resonance encephalography signal change in peri-arterial regions that extends centrifugally and covers the brain in I Hz cycles. The respiratory 0.3 Hz pulsations are centripetal periodical pulses that occur dominantly in peri-venous areas. The third type of pulsation was very low frequency (VLF 0.001-0.023hZ) and low frequency (LF 0.023-0.73 Hz) waves that both propagate with unique spatiotemporal patterns. Our findings using critically sampled magnetic resonance encephalography open a new view into cerebral fluid dynamics. Since glymphatic system failure may precede protein accumulations in diseases such as Alzheimer's dementia, this methodological advance offers a novel approach to image brain fluid dynamics that potentially can enable early detection and intervention in neurodegenerative diseases.  

This study was performed to identify the effects of the improvement of brain function by CST on the elderly with the 2nd or 3rd grade of long-term care insurance service. A quasi-experimental design using a nonequivalent control group, a pre-post test was used. A total of 12 elders. (6 in the experimental group, and 6 in the control group) were recruited. Upledger CST (10 step protocol) was performed on each subject for 50 minutes per session, once a week for a total of 8 treatments over an 8 week period. 

Thanks to the latest Hollywood release, "Concussion," starring Will Smith, and the prevalent role that NFL football plays in American culture, more and more people are becoming aware of the impact of concussions on those who play impact sports, including football, at all levels.

Murray, author of "A Colloid Fluid Model: The Bridge Between Biological and Energy Medicine," published internationally in Explore Magazine, and pioneer of Manual Regulation Therapy (MRT), explains how the model gave birth to MRT.  MRT is a unique and integrative therapy that combines conventional physical therapy, cranial sacral therapy, visceral manipulation, and myofascial release to provide a totally unique approach to treatment. These treatments prove highly effective in helping those suffering from the effects of concussions, both as a result of violent hits and smaller repetitive blows, to experience relief, and even complete recovery.