What is craniosacral therapy good for?

If you’re here, you probably want to know if craniosacral therapy is right for you. You might be asking yourself what is craniosacral therapy, what is craniosacral therapy good for, and can craniosacral therapy help me? You’re not alone - there’s a lot of information out there about craniosacral therapy, and also it seems like none of it really explains what it is. It seems like craniosacral therapy can help EVERYTHING under the sun, yet we know logically that can’t be true. Don’t worry, I got you - read on to learn more.

What is craniosacral therapy?

Craniosacral therapy is a light touch modality. A craniosacral practitioner places their hands on key places of the body, including the head (cranium), tailbone area (sacrum) (seewhatididthere), and other areas of the body needing attention based on individual needs, such as the chest, throat, legs, feet, shoulders, etc - the list goes on. Each area receives a prolonged amount of skilled and specific touch to facilitate release - whether that’s physical, emotional, or otherwise. In training, we are taught to use the pressure of a nickel - yes, that tiny coin you probably haven’t seen in years (for a more modern reference, see also: the weight of a credit card). Place a credit card on the back of one of your hands - not much pressure, is it? How is that light weight doing ANYTHING?! And you’re not wrong - the biological basis for craniosacral therapy is understudied. What’s not is the treatment effect in the research, especially for chronic neck pain. In a randomized control trial studying craniosacral therapy versus sham treatment (meaning random light touch versus systematic light touch like with craniosacral therapy), craniosacral therapy produced a clinically significant reduction in pain for up to 20 weeks after treatment. Whoa. And there’s more out there too.

All craniosacral treatments are performed fully clothed. Because they’re so gentle on the body, it’s an ideal treatment for people with trouble tolerating physical touch for a multitude of reasons - whether it be sensitivity physically, emotionally, or both. This creates a safe space in more ways than one.

What is craniosacral therapy good for?

This is where the internet goes nuts - claims for everything from headaches and migraines (yes) to helping with infertility (maybe) and curing clubfoot (no). You’ll see just about everything short of walking on water!

In my experience, craniosacral therapy is best for people who are not optimally responding to typical modalities. This means you’ve tried everything from chiropractic adjustments to physical therapy and while it might help a little, you’re still dealing with pain. What do we know? Tissues heal. That’s right - pain does not equal tissue damage! (There’s a wild amount of high quality peer reviewed studies for that, too). You might have injured yourself years ago, but I hate to break it to you - your body is smart and your tissues have healed. So why do you still have pain? Long story short, your brain is now wired to set off alarm bells for things it didn’t before. How do we calm that? Craniosacral therapy is one of the ways! I find it works best in conjunction or as an adjunct to other therapies, but still holds merit on its own. I’ve found that common diagnoses that respond well are:

• Chronic pain(anywhere in the body - from one joint to multiple)

• Chronic neck pain

• Headaches

• Migraines

• Low back pain

• Chronic stress

I’m a physical therapist by trade with over 12 years of experience in a variety of different medical settings. I can tell you, from my experience, there’s lots of craniosacral therapists out there who overstate their claims. It’s important to be discerning when choosing your practitioner based on your individual needs - keep your eyes peeled for another post on this, soon!

Can craniosacral therapy help me?

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Does physical therapy, chiropractic treatment, or massage feel like too much for my body to handle?

• Do I keep going back to physical therapy, chiropractic treatment, massage for the same problem without lasting results?

• Do I deal with any of the problems (chronic pain, headaches, migraines, low back pain, chronic stress) listed above?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, it’s worth a shot! If you’re still questioning, book a free, no-pressure 30 minute connection call to learn more about craniosacral therapy and how I might be able to help you by clicking here.

If you’re ready to book your initial 60 or 90 minute craniosacral therapy session, click the links below:

60-minute craniosacral therapy session

90-minute craniosacral therapy session

Pro-tip: Mention this blog post for $25 off your first session!!

With love,

Joanna (More about me in my Bio)

Next on your reading list:

Is craniosacral therapy good for anxiety?