Also known as Craniosacral Therapy and Cranial Osteopathy, Craniosacral massage is a non invasive, gentle treatment. It is healing technique developed by the Osteopath William Sutherland.

The treatment is not really a massage as the therapist's hands rest lightly on or above the patient's body and do not move during the treatment, no massage technique involved. During the treatment, which usually lasts between 45 and 60 minutes, the patient lies on a couch fully clothed and usually experiences a warm pleasant sensation that is so relaxing that they sometimes fall asleep.

Therapists are trained to feel the movement of cerebro-spinal fluid, the fluid that surrounds the brain, spinal column and every cell in the body, which is much harder to detect than a pulse. The principal is that if there is something wrong with the body, it will be felt as a blockage or restriction in the flow of cerebral-spinal fluid. The therapist is trained to remove these blockages, therefore resolving the problem.

For example, in the case of an injury, say a twisted ankle, it is believed that a memory of the accident is retained in the tissues surrounding the injury, resulting in blockages in cerebro-spinal fluid. During the accident, the tissues are pulled & twisted in different directions and this needs to be unwound' to restore the ankle to how it was before the accident. The therapist follows the movement of these pulls that are reflected in the cerebro-spinal fluid and unwinds' the injury. More than one treatment is often needed to fully resolve the problem. Think of these pulls like a telephone cord that has to be unwound to make it straight.

Craniosacral massage is often used on babies as it is a gentle technique that can re-align bones that are out of place due to the birth process.

It is also used for emotional trauma and shock that is held in the body and can be released during treatment. Sometimes patients will actually recall the traumatic event as they are being treated. Almost every thing can be helped by this treatment, injuries, headaches, back pain, arthritis, stress, birth trauma, allergies, colic and depression.

All Osteopaths are trained in this technique and use it a little but some people are trained specially as Craniosacral Therapists. This treatment is still relatively unknown but slowly gaining recognition through everyone that has benefited from it.

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