Cranial Therapeutic Care: Is There any Evidence?
July 12, 2006
SOTO-USA at Work Supporting Chiropractic Care
Sign Up
Dear Colleague,

This newsletter is a sample of the work Sacro Occipital Technique Organization - USA is doing for the Sacro Occipital Technique (SOT) and chiropractic community supporting clinical care that is being threatened to be eliminated from manual health care.

While doctors in practice are using SOT, cranial and TMJ therapies on patients routinely, our research community is attempting to create a reductionistic methodology of what chiropractic or manual health care should be. Attempts are being made to standardize care, eliminate chiropractic techniques, eliminate the need for specificity of the manual treatment rendered, and question methods of care used for decades.

Some of this questioning is a good thing and will help us all discern the wheat from the chaff, and propel our techniques to higher standards with greater validity and reliability. But there is concern that with limited information and research in on most of our manual health cares, cranial technique included, that some researchers are all too willing to eliminate it without any further review.

Steve E Hartman, Cranial osteopathy: its fate seems clear, Journal of Chiropractic & Osteopathy 2006, 14:10.

Background: According to the original model of cranial osteopathy, intrinsic rhythmic movements of the human brain cause rhythmic fluctuations of cerebrospinal fluid and specific relational changes among dural membranes, cranial bones, and the sacrum. Practitioners believe they can palpably modify parameters of this mechanism to a patient's health advantage.

Discussion: This treatment regime lacks a biologically plausible mechanism, shows no diagnostic reliability, and offers little hope that any direct clinical effect will ever be shown. In spite of almost uniformly negative research findings, "cranial" methods remain popular with many practitioners and patients.

Summary: Until outcome studies show that these techniques produce a direct and positive clinical effect, they should be dropped from all academic curricula; insurance companies should stop paying for them; and patients should invest their time, money, and health elsewhere.
Charles Blum, Scott Cuthbert, Cranial Therapeutic Care: Is There any Evidence? Chiropractic & Osteopathy 2006, 14:10

When an article like Hartman's is written it is incumbent upon the proponents of a method of care, like cranial technique, to respond appropriately. When someone searches for cranial research online one of the first articles that comes up is the one by Hartman, harshly criticizing the efficacy of cranial manipulative care. If a stand and response is not taken his position is assumed to be the accepted scientific standard.

Since SOTO-USA takes it upon itself to represent SOT and cranial care Scott Cuthbert (representing ICAK-USA's research board) and I have spent approximately 100 hours preparing a response and you can find it now online, accompanying Hartman's letter. That means whenever anyone locates his article online they will find our commentary associated along side his.
CRANIAL: 1. Frontal, 2. Parietal, 3. Temporal, 4. Occipital, 5. Ethmoid, 6. Sphenoid

FACIAL: 7. Nasal, 8. Inferior nasal concha, 9. Vomer, 10. Lacrimal, 11. Zygomatic, 12. Palatine, 13. Maxilla, 14. Mandible

This is but one example of how SOTO-USA helps you the doctor in practice. We are constantly writing position statements and replying to state boards (in the United States) who attempt to eliminate or legislate away our scope of practice or ability to practice SOT to its fullest. One way to support SOTO-USA is through your membership or your tax deductable donation for further research.

Sincerely,
Charles Blum, DC
Sacro Occipital Technique Organization - USA

phone: 336-760-1618
Email Marketing by