What is Craniosacral Therapy? That is the question asked by a leaflet produced by the Craniosacral Therapy Association of the UK. I found a copy of this when I paid a quick visit to a local health food shop which doubles as a leaflet distribution centre for quackery & woo.
My quick answer to the question would be Quackery!
But that’s just my opinion and to ensure I’m not doing these therapists an injustice, I suppose I’d better have a look at the leaflet and see what it has to say.
If you wish, then you can do the same (leaflet pdf): What is craniosacral
What Is Craniosacral Therapy?
It is a “hands-on therapy which assists the body’s natural capacity for self-repair”.
We’re not off to a good start. It’s the old helping the body heal itself claim, one which is so common amongst the alt-med practitioners. That usually means there is no credible mechanism by which the actions of the therapy could actually benefit the condition by any recognised means!
“The therapist listens, via the hands, to what is going on in your body”
And later …
“At the core of the body the cerebrospinal fluid, which bathes and cushions the brain and spinal cord, expresses this motion in a tide-like ebb and flow; while bones, organs and other structures in the body follow their own particular patterns of movement. This motion is so subtle that it is barely measurable with instruments, but a trained therapist is able to perceive it”
Ok so now were into the area where therapists claims to be able to detect something that is barely detectable or measurable by modern medicine. And if they claim medical technology can’t measure it, they usually claim it can’t disprove it!
We seem to be missing a statement of how effective and gentle it is.
Oh, there it is: “Craniosacral Therapy owes its increasing popularity to the effectiveness of its gentle approach”
And finally we need to keep customers coming back, even if they felt no immediate benefit from the treatment:
“Some people find that it can take a few sessions to get used to what they are feeling. For these reasons, you may need to consider having a serious of treatments to gain the full benefit of Craniosacral Therapy and it cumulative effects”
With a bit of luck the patient has a minor, self limiting condition that would see an improvement even without any treatment …. But we can still say craniosacral cured it!
However as we’ll see, craniosacral isn’t just concerned with the minor condions.
OK that seems to take care of what they claim craniosacral therapy is, exactly what do they claim it can do.
People have found Craniosacral Therapy helpful for the following conditions:
Oooh, that’s a big list and includes some quite serious conditions. Nowhere in the leaflet is there any suggestion that people suffering from these conditions should seek professional medical advice, nor does it claim to be best used in conjunction with existing medicine. In fact there is no mention what-so-ever of seeking proper medical advice for any of these conditions.
So in order to make these claims and to say they are effective, you’d rightly assume there was some evidence to support them. Actually given that some of these conditions are potentially serious, you expect it to be good quality evidence.
Well the leaflet makes no mention of any supporting research! Perhaps the Craniosacral Therapy Association website will be more helpful
http://www.craniosacral.co.uk/
Well this looks good, second link down on the left of the page (under ‘home’) is Research. Clearly it’s something high on their list of priorities.
The first line of their research page says it all really: http://www.craniosacral.co.uk/researchfunding/research.html
“As Craniosacral Therapists in our clinical practice, we mostly rely on anecdotal evidence provided by satisfied clients to their family and friends.”
If you read the rest of the page you’ll see that they don’t actually try to hide the fact that they don’t really have any evidence to support these claims. Of the 5 studies they do actually list, none could be said to be high quality, properly conducted RCT’s in fact they admit that 2 of the studies have nothing to do with craniosacral therapy.
So having had a quick look at craniosacral therapy, what it is, what it claims to treat and the evidence to support those claims, has my opinion about it being Quackery changed – Yes, I now believe that it’s not just Quackery, but is potentially dangerous Quackery that needs to be challenged!
Actions:
The Craniosacral Therapy Association leaflet, What is Craniosacral Therapy?, is now in the hands of the Advertising Standards Authority. The leaflets claims have been challenged on a number of areas. Specifically that the claims are unsubstantiated and misleading. I’ve had an acknowledgement and been told it has been passed to their Complaints team.
Most of the UK craniosacral therapy sites I can find, seem to be based on the wording and claims of this leaflet and the Craniosacral Therapy Assoc website.
It was my intention to wait until the ASA have made a judgement before tackling the websites via Trading Standards. However that changed when I came upon this site http://www.craniosacraltherapy.org.uk/treatment/
Under the section called Q. What ailments can you treat? The guy lists a full range of conditions, many similar to those on the leaflet, but worse than that he’s claiming to treat CANCER.
Under his research page he simply repeats the earlier claims – so he has nothing more than anecdotes!
His website has been submitted to Trading Standards via the Consumer Direct website. In the meantime he would do well to read the Cancer Act 1939 4.1(a)
4 Prohibition of certain advertisements
(1)No person shall take any part in the publication of any advertisement—
(a) containing an offer to treat any person for cancer, or to prescribe any remedy therefor, or to give any advice in connection with the treatment thereof; or
In this video clip he claims that craniosaceral therapy treats ‘everything & everything’
I’m not convinced, but that doesn’t matter, it’s Trading Standards that Mr Ellis needs to convince!
More updates as & when they happen!
Zeno
May 9, 2010
Great work!
The usual quack gap is there: even if these quacks could detect any movement of CSF, that does not mean that doing whatever it is they do can actually make any difference to anything.
All the hallmarks of bogus quackery without a jot of evidence to back up their dangerous claims.
I hope TS throw the book at him.
Carol-Ann Weaver
May 10, 2010
Research on CranioSacral Therapy (CST) may be found in Dr. John Upledger’s textbooks; http://www.upledger.com. There are several schools of “cranio” that developed out of osteopathy; perhaps, an osteopathy college can best answer your questions. I am a teaching assistant for the Upledger Institute.
CW
skepticbarista
May 10, 2010
Thanks for the response:
Rather than point me in the direction of your online book store, could you provide any links to peer-reviewed research ?
Or perhaps you could explain the mechanisms by which it could cure Dyslexia!
Carol-Ann Weaver
May 12, 2010
Again, the research you seek is available from the “on-line bookstore”. (Dr. Upledger’s research was conducted prior to the Internet’s explosion of information.)
Regarding dyslexia, not all dyslexia is due to craniosacral (CS) system dysfunction. Dyslexia that is a result of CS system dysfunction may be treated by mobilizing the temporal bones at the occipitomastoid suture. Numerous nerves (including Cranial Nerves V, VII, IX, & X) and blood vessels (including carotid, stylomastoid, and occipital arteries and jugular veins) pass through the temporal bones. Releasing facial (connective tissue) restrictions* surrounding these structures may result in physiological changes that improve brain function. These changes may include increased fluid (blood, lymph, and cerebrospinal fluid) flow and reduced/eliminated tissue strain. Improved brain function following physiological correction is usually prompt and dramatic.
* Restrictions may result from injury (including birth trauma), surgery, or disease (inflammation).
In gathering info on CS therapy (CST), it is important to note: 1) countries subscribing to Grey’s Anatomy (typically the UK, US and Canada) espouse that cranial bones fuse permanently by the age of 12. Mediterranean countries (following Giuseppe Sperino’s Anatomy) support the mobility of cranial bones with a lack of movement indicating the presence of disease and dysfunction. 2) Upledger is the only CS school to use light (5 grams of) pressure to release restrictions in the body’s facial system, thereby, improving cranial bone mobility. (Dr. Upledger’s study of dyslexia with CST involved 65 patients; temporal bone correction was effective treatment for dyslexia in about half of those treated.)
Andrew Gilbey
May 10, 2010
I guess the real irony is that it makes us skeptical folk want to bang our heads against the wall. Quite possibly causing ‘a tidal-wave like ebb and flow’.
davidp
May 11, 2010
Very good work. Reporting to the ASA is good. Spotting a breach of the cancer act and reporting it is also good.
Craniosacral “therapists” can’t even agree on the “craniosacral rates” they claim to sense on the same patient – see the 13th and 14th references on http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/cranial.html
skepticbarista
May 12, 2010
Had email today confirming that the cancer claim is now in the hands of Trading Standards officers and also suggesting that I contact the General Medical Council about it.
skepticbarista
May 13, 2010
Have Trading Standards been busy ?
Earlier today David Ellis removed Cancer from his list of conditions he claims can be treated. He has also removed the video clip where he claims to be able to cure ‘everything & anything’.
A copy of the original page can be found here:
http://www.freezepage.com/1273257472NJQUMLEPDJ
His video clip is still available on youtube (and has been downloaded) and works on the archived page.
His claims for other conditions are still on his website, I’ll be interested in knowing if Trading Standards asked him if he has any reliable evidence to support those claims, if so I’d like to know what that evidence is.
If they’ve not asked him for evidence …… why not?
Attiniaintalo
May 14, 2010
thanks! 🙂
lets write them until the admit it, or stop doing it! i am writing them now!
🙂
Ross Burton
May 31, 2010
There was a craniosacral therapist in my town, advertising in the local paper that they can help the usual suspects (migraine, infant colic, etc). Filed an ASA complaint and the advertising disappeared faster than you can say “prove it”.
Donkey
August 28, 2010
You sir, are a fucking cunt
Yogzotot
August 28, 2010
Maybe but,…
It took me about 5 minutes to search for his name in PubMed / Web of Science and find an overview of his articles from the late 1970s and 1980s. Almost all of them were published in the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, many are 1 page long articles or comments, and were rarely cited again by anyone else in a published journal. This doesn’t bode well for his influence…
Content-wise, most articles concern anatomical research on nerve and bone structures, or the difficulties of CS diagnostics. I have not seen one article that suggests research on specific conditions or treatment trials at all.
The journal has a website where anyone can access complete recent articles, and at least abstracts from old ones. Curiously, they don’t provide abstracts for the journal sections where Dr Upledger has published his articles.
If his research were so influential and hard to come by, it would be most welcomed if at list his institute website would provide PDFs of it on its website, like other researchers often do.
Harry-h
August 28, 2010
Skeptics generally seem to have alot of time on their hands, mostly looking at the world from the negative, rather than really wanting to understand what something actually is through EXPERIENCE.
I would challenge any to try CST, not necessarily as a receiver of its treatment, but as a student, who, with open mind (and that would be the big challenge !!) actually try to perceive the rhythms that a CST practitioner is aware of.
If this David Ellis claimed to be able to cure cancer, then yes, he’s an idiot, and needs to be dealt with.
I don’t need to ask if there is at least one totally stupid Skeptic out there, but to tar you all with the same brush? I wouldn’t be so ignorant.
skepticbarista
August 28, 2010
Yes David Ellis did claim to treat cancer and although he has now removed cancer from his list of conditions that can be treated you can find a link to the original page in comment #8 above.
You say that this makes him an idiot (your words), yet he is listed by the The College of Cranio-Sacral Therapy as somebody who they trust to deliver postgrad CST training courses.
http://www.signifier.co.uk/CCST/dates.php#postgrad
(bottom of page)
So if they are happy to have people you would class as an idiot offering professional training, you’ll understand why I would have serious concerns about trying CST as a student, let alone let some therapist trained by an ‘idiot’ loose on me.
And if ‘idiots’ are offering the training and claiming to treat not only cancer but other serious conditions, without any valid evidence to support those treatments …… you should expect those claims to be questioned!
When those questions are asked, it is organisations like the ASA and Trading Standards who take action and bring about any changes.
To my mind David Ellis is not an idiot! He certainly saw fit to remove the cancer claim quickly enough, to leave it in place would have been the sign of an idiot!
Actually ‘Idiot’ isn’t the term I’d use to sum up craniosacral theraprists (including Mr Ellis). But I do strongly believe they are wrong, mistaken or even deluded (in some cases dangerously so) about the benefits of their therapy.
Yogzotot
August 28, 2010
Instead of “skeptic” I personally prefer calling myself a “critical thinker” or “scientifically minded”, as many confuse skepticism with nay-saying.
I consider myself open-minded, but as a psychologist I know how often we take our own, limited experience for “the truth”, and know many of the biases we all (including myself) tend to fall pray to. Hence I am not interested in individual anecdotes and cases, were something may seems to have helped a single person, but if this effect is proven to be wide-spread and sustainable, and really caused by the intervention in question. And this actually requires time and tenacity to study.
Zeno
August 28, 2010
Harry-h
Why do you say Ellis is an idiot? Is it because his claims may contravene the 1939 Cancer Act or because you believe his claims are wrong? Or some other reason?
skepticbarista
August 28, 2010
I wonder if there’s a connection between the ASA letter I got recently, the large number of hits this blog has had (all from email links) and the fact the CranioSacral Therapy Assoc website is down and under reconstruction!
Glad I captured their previous pages at Freezepage.com
Donkey
August 28, 2010
Fuck you
skepticbarista
August 28, 2010
Is there a medically trained doctor in the house …. I think we have a raw nerve on show!
Or as Shrek would say ….. That’ll do Donkey, That’ll do!
Daycoder
November 13, 2010
Brilliant post. I heard of this nonsense fairly recently. A parent of a child at my wife’s school is an ‘Angel Therapist’. Looking up what the hell that was, craniosacral was alongside it in a list of therapies at an altered centre in London. Knowing a tiny bit more about anatomy than the average person (went to Body Worlds, secretly in love with Alice Roberts, play Bones Lite my iPod), it immediately sounded fishy as they’re quite far apart. I wasn’t as diligent as you though. I just decided to give the mechanism by which craniosacral works a name. I call it the anal-olecranon process. (anal you know already. The ‘olecranon process’ is, I think, your funny bone). So it works by taking money from people who dont know their arse from their elbow?
I briefly toyed with setting up as an anal-olecranon process therapist, as an experiment in taking money from fools, but decided against being a bastard.
Chloe
March 1, 2011
I had CST today in hope to realign my body and aid a breech positioned baby. I do feel better now, my therapist is a very informative man and unless you’ve had CST yourself I don’t think I are in any position to even comment, you claim there’s no evidence etc in CST being effective yet you don’t have any evidence saying it doesnt work. I suggest rather than sitting at a computer and reading a leaflet you should actually test your scepticism before writing so much. Not all CST therapists are like the man you mentioned there’s always a minority in any profession who play the money making game, the majority are genuinely caring people. Thanks
skepticbarista
March 1, 2011
Chloe,
How appropriate that you should comment on CST today …… I was literally just in the process of sending some CST therapist websites to the ASA.
What you fail to realise is that I have simply questioned the claims. It is down to the CST therapists to prove that they are able to do what they say they can.
They just need to provide some evidence ….. without that how can we tell if somebody is offering a legitimate treatment, or it’s just another quack taking money of people who just want to believe!
Your CST therapist doesn’t have a website does he?
Simone
March 4, 2011
Will you be posting more on CST SB?
skepticbarista
March 4, 2011
Yes!
It hasn’t gone away, but I think there are a number of CST websites that will soon be undergoing a review.
Why do you ask?