Research supporting Osteopathy
Introduction To Research
Research supporting Osteopathy in the Cranial Field (OCF) had been well established in the scientific literature long before William Garner Sutherland.
CNS Motility
Motion of the central nervous system anatomy has been well documented in research studies from multiple sources mostly outside the osteopathic profession.
CSF Fluctuation
CSF flows through the ventricles of the brain and within the spaces around the brain and spinal cord. Sutherland described this motion as fluctuant in nature.
Dural Mobility
The existence of the membranes around the brain and spinal cord is well documented in anatomic research and utilized in medical practice.
Cranial Bone Mobility
Cranial bone motion has been the most controversial phenomenon of the Primary Respiratory Mechanism (PRM), but there is ample evidence that the cranial bones do rhythmically move.
Sacral Mobility
It is an anatomical fact that the sacrum moves between the ilia. It simply would not be possible for humans to walk or run if the sacral-iliac joints did not allow for motion.
Clinical Research
The effectiveness of OCF has been consistently demonstrated in a number of clinical studies. Research has been performed on treatment of the following clinical conditions:
Palpatory Reliability
Inter-examiner reliability studies of cranial palpation are notoriously difficult to design well, and, as a result have been inadequate in demonstrating consistent findings across examiners.