Principles of the Cranial Techniques

Source: pages.prodigy.net/stn1/Cranial%20Technique.htm

William Garner Sutherland, D.O., was the founder of cranial technique. He first began to theorize movement of the cranial bones in 1899 while a student at the American School of Osteopathy in Kirksville, Missouri. Upon graduation in the class of 1900, he devoted 30 years of research and study on the subject before he began presenting the concept to the osteopathic profession. After many lectures and presentations, he published The Cranial Bowl in 1939. In 1947 the Osteopathic Cranial Association was formed as an affiliate of the Academy of Applied Osteopathy, and the Sutherland Cranial Teaching Foundation was established in 1953.

PRINCIPLES OF CRANIAL TECHNIQUE

THE PRIMARY RESPIRATORY MECHANISM (PRM)

Primary- Underlying all other physiologic functions.
Respiratory- Concerned with cellular respiration.
Mechanism- Cranial articulations.

The PRM is often described in terms of the rhythm of the cranium, called the cranial rhythmic impulse (CRI). The rate of the CRI is from 6-12 to 10-14 cycles per minute, depending on what source you read. The central focus of this mechanism is the SPHENOBASILAR SYMPHYSIS (SBS). This is also referred to as the sphenobasilar synchondrosis or the sphenobasilar junction.

The components of the primary respiratory mechanism are as follows:

The anatomy of the cranial bones and their design for motion.
The mobility of the dural membranes (reciprocal tension membrane).
The inherent mobility of the brain and spinal cord, a constant rhythm of discharge and recharge of cells accompanied by a change in cell size.
The fluctuation of the cerebral spinal fluid.
The articular mobility of the sacrum between the ilia.

THE RECIPROCAL TENSION MEMBRANE (RTM)

Dr. Sutherland hypothesized that the motion of the cranial bones originated from the sphenoid and that the DRIVING FORCE for the sphenoid came from the rhythmic fluctuation of the CSF, which was harnessed and transferred to the sphenoid through the dural membrane system. Think of the RTM as the guiding and limiting mechanism for the cranial and sacral bones as they are involved in the PRM. The axis around which the membranes move is called the SUTHERLAND FULCRUM in his honor. This fulcrum is the point along which all tension in the dural membranes is focused. It is located where the falx cerebri and the two parts of the tentorium cerebelli meet (in the area of the straight sinus).

Components of the reciprocal tension membrane:
1. Falx cerebri.
2. Falx cerebelli
3. Tentorium cerebelli
4. Spinal dura