History of CranioSacral Therapy

Dr. John Upledger first came across the Craniosacral concept during a surgical operation in 1971. He was assisting a neurosurgeon in a process that involved the removal of a calcified plaque without harming the dura matter. His task was to hold the dural member in place with two pairs of forceps while the neurosurgeon removed the plaque without cutting or damaging the underlying dural membrane but the membrane would not hold still. He was embarrassed because he couldn't perform what should have been a simple task.

It became apparent that the movement of the dural membrane was rhythmical at about 8 cycles per minute. This was independent of the patients breathing and cardiac rhythms. It was obviously another physiological rhythm. It appeared to be an ebb and flow of the fluid which was contained within the dural membrane. Neither he, nor the neurosurgeon or the anestheologist had ever observed this phenomena before, and he became very curious as to what it was. There was no relevant information about it in any conventional medical or physiology literature.

Further research led him into the pioneering of what is now known as Cranio Sacral therapy (C. S. T.).