Australian Craniofascial Therapy School

05/12/2025

Anatomy relevant for Level Three face and mouthwork. Students like Katie Cresp will woner why this sort of 'functional' illustration is not more common

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20/05/2025

Treating an allergic reaction with Craniofascial therapy
Acute facial swelling, light sensitivity and cranial pressure were the features of this case
(see Before photo)

Cause
The client is somatically aware and believes a kiwifruit extract in an over-the-counter natural product recommended by a gastroenterologist she consulted for bloating was the specific trigger. I saw her 8 weeks later when the swelling had subsided

Treatment plan
Continuing with eye drops alone seemed inadequate. The hazardous area of the body involved, the specific symptoms and the prior medical specialists consulted, particularly without a firm diagnosis or symptom-relief being obtained, were all ‘orange flags’
Something had caused this case, and even if the kiwifruit extract was the culprit, there still needed to be a mechanism involving tissues and structures to account for the signs and symptoms
Although the facial swelling had subsided, the light sensitivity and perceived cranial pressure were still present, indicating that the tissue mechanism was still present. What could it have been?
As an experienced cranial practitioner I thought of what lay behind the eyes, and whether the sphenoid bone including its soft-tissue attachments was the primary structure involved; not as the cause, but as the mediating physical factor, the ‘symptom trigger’
Regarding the two particular hand skills used for treatment, the tentorium technique used is essentially dead simple while the sphenoid technique is not. What happened was not some high-level advanced application so much as an example of pure patience, guided by past experience

Results
The client felt an immediate change from craniofascial therapy and while she reported a “90%” improvement, there was still some light sensitivity and sense of cranial pressure present
A week later she had experienced no symptoms at all for many days and I was satisfied I had done enough in the short term
(See After photo in Comments)

Conclusion
Results can be achieved even with medical-grade symptoms using our Thinking Fingers, to use a term associated with William Sutherland, the founder of cranial therapy
This showcased the potential of cranial therapy, where the medical model in this case was failing to understand the issue and was not helping the client
I was pleasantly surprised but not amazed by the response. I think episodes like this may occur regularly with craniosacral therapy practitioners, but we are generally hidden and of perceived low professional standing in medical and bodywork hierarchies

More details are included in a document twice the length of this precis. Available on request

30/04/2025

Snippets from a Fascia Research Congress

I attended the Fascia Research Congress 2022, and it was an eye-opening experience! In this video, I share the key takeaways, groundbreaking insights, and th...

25/03/2025

Yes, that's right. The floor of the 4th ventricle is oriented vertically.
Maybe this made more physiological sense when 'humans' were still evolving from our original stance as quadripeds to being upright.

The nuclei of the dorsal vagus nerve is actually a part of the floor.
This one is the unmyelinated, 'primitive' branch that is associated with the freeze response of the parasympathetic nervous system.
This nuclei is moved every time the ventricle swells with more CSF or is partially drained of it, about 5 times every minute.

The Still Point technique of craniosacral therapy temporarily halts this inherent cyclical rhythm and may act to regulate the parasympathetic nervous system
Our intelligent hands can thereby influence this nuclei deep within the brain

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19N2EiTWWu/

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29/01/2025

20 years ago fascia was still 'off the radar' of most people in our industry. From little things ...

28/12/2024

https://www.theage.com.au/world/europe/it-has-no-cure-but-this-doctor-believes-he-has-an-answer-to-chronic-fatigue-20241113-p5kq8e.html

Craniosacral does not get name-checked in this article, but the cribiform plate (of the ethmoid bone) is; a specific structure that only craniosacral can address by mobilising local connective tissues to allow proper positioning and function

The cribiform cannot be directly touched and requires adjacent structures like the sphenoid it articulates with being mobilised as part of a package of techniques (Level 2 & 3 workshops)

Most lymph drains through the left duct beneath the collarbone and fascial shoulder girdle releases (Level 1 workshop) come into play as a specific preliminary techniques for lymph drainage

For 25 years, Dr Raymond Perrin has been developing a theory on how to treat myalgic encephalomyelitis. A new brain discovery might finally help confirm it.

12/12/2024

"In 2023, FRS and the National Institutes of Health in the United States hosted a robust virtual discussion between anatomists, surgeons, manual therapists, and researchers.

Our expanded understanding of the fascial system has drastically outpaced the terminology we use to describe it. In fact, this old terminology is constraining. How can we successfully communicate with other medical or health care providers if we use individually created definitions?"
Prof Rebecca Pratt, PhD President of Fascia Research Society

06/12/2024

The occipitomastoid suture is a small hollow on each side of the head behind the ear, and is crowded to start with by two other nerves, an artery and a vein all transiting through
It can easily get jammed up, particularly on the left IMO, and should be regularly targeted with craniosacral therapy techniques, especially when things go wrong, which can lead to a variety of symptoms

Why Is the Vagus Nerve Important?

Because information flows both to and from the brain via vagal pathways, the vagus nerve can be thought of as a major mind-body highway. The many branches of the vagus nerve are increasingly seen as pathways for promoting or restoring health and ameliorating the physiologic unease that gives rise to anxiety and other negative mental states.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/basics/vagus-nerve

CST can help reset your vagus nerve. Find a qualified practitioner here - https://www.craniosacral.co.uk/practitioner-directory/

28/09/2024

Via Ben Smith

The vagus nerve is the longest cranial nerve connecting gut to the brain—branching into every major organ in between.

It organises the parasympathetic nervous system and plays a role in heart rate, immune response, digestion, and overall mood.

26/09/2024

Orthotics, symmetry, short leg syndrome and the sphenoid

I posted this brief synthesis as a reply to someone else's post today. My students will be aware of my interest in this area, and it's relevance to Craniofascial
As but one example, why is the sphenoid bone in the centre of the head typically dragged to the right and never to the left (excepting severe local trauma)?

"While an orthotic would be ideal, I selectively prescribe a heel lift (not medial or lateral wedges) underneath an anatomically short leg after manual therapy has neutralised compensation patterns of strain. Just prescribing a lift without therapy might just solidify the unwanted compensation and not solve anything

The prevalence of leg length discrepancy is routinely ignored here in Australia and massage therapists don't look for it. Existing Leg Length Discrepancy (LLD) research is neither taught nor known. It shows that Normal Subjects have a 20-25% incidence. That means at least 1 in 5 of the general public!
However, Health Subjects (by definition every client we treat) have a 65-75% incidence. Take a moment and consider that. 300% more likely when researched than with normal subjects, it means most of our clients have a true short leg. It is bizarre that we are not taught this vital information and that there is no flow-on benefit to therapy

Now for the interesting bit ... is the distribution 50 /50 or does one leg tend to be the short one? I have been working with this for over 35 years and am utterly convinced that the right leg will be the short one, almost exclusively, well, well over 90%
Published research has not focussed on laterality. The research papers do mention subjects with a short right leg and never with a short left leg, but the evidence is embedded and covert, not explicit

If this idea intrigues you, try assessing for it yourself, both supine and standing, bearing in mind there will be compensation and camouflage to see through. If you look at standing clients you will regularly observe a lower right gluteal fold
Every compensation pattern is different, but you will begin to know what to expect and be able to check how well you have treated it. Symptoms will make more sense. It has been a game-changer in my own practice
This short leg issue has profound implications for our industry in many ways, but has been overlooked and misunderstood"

20/08/2024

I have personally achieved better results treating vertigo than I have with tinnitus, which is also an indication for CST therapy

Temporal bone misalignment and motion asymmetry as a cause of vertigo: the craniosacral model
Conclusion: Clinical experience suggests that craniosacral therapy is a powerful evaluative and treatment modality for vertigo patients who have not found relief from medical treatments.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19943575/

07/08/2024

France has a long tradition embracing cranial osteopathy