Home Page for Indiana Academy of Osteopathy

History

William Garner Sutherland, DO (1873-1954), discovered, developed, and taught Osteopathy in the Cranial Field in the early to mid-1900s. While looking at a mounted human skull in Kirksville, MO, while attending the American School of Osteopathy (now AT Still University), Dr. Sutherland noticed that two bones came together at the suture (articulation) in a way that reminded him of the gills of a fish. Those bones were the parietal and temporal bones. That suggested to him that there might be motion in the bones of the head. Until that time, most anatomists taught that the head bones were fused. Dr. Sutherland was the first to perceive a subtle palpable movement within the bones of the cranium. He later discovered that this rhythmic fluid movement occurs throughout all tissues of the body. The “Primary Respiratory Mechanism,” as it was named, underlies all of the body's metabolic processes. It gives life, form, and substance to all of anatomy and physiology. It drives all functions of the body.

The hands of a skilled osteopathic physician can connect directly with the primary respiratory mechanism and utilize it to bring about changes in the body. Physicians trained in Cranial Osteopathy can place their hands on any part of the patient to perceive and influence this important mechanism. There is a dynamic interaction occurring during treatment where the D.O. senses mechanical restriction and obstructed fluid flow, makes a diagnosis, and then facilitates release. It may be applied for the prevention and treatment of disease and enhancement of health. Do not confuse it with craniosacral therapy, which some massage and physical therapists practice. Cranial Osteopathy is far more powerful.

Cranial Osteopathy is helpful in treating headaches, head injuries, infants who have had difficult deliveries (strain to the head), plagiocephaly (asymmetric head), ear infections and sinus infections, and many more ailments. It has been performed with positive results for: otitis media, pregnancy, labor and delivery, seizure disorders, neurologic deficits, learning problems, dental problems, normalization of blood flow, and normalization of autonomic function, to name just a few. It is especially helpful for infants and newborns in relieving sleeplessness and colic.

When diagnosis and treatment are done on the head, it addresses general patterns and specific restrictions that are present in the cranial membranes, between the cranial bones, within the bones (especially in infants and children when some bones are not fully formed), within areas of the brain, and in the fluids in the head (blood and cerebrospinal fluid). A D.O. specializing in Cranial Osteopathy will not treat just the head; he or she will treat the pelvis, the sacrum, the vertebrae, and ribs too. This broad approach allows a full evaluation and treatment of the complex human body and can help identify the underlying cause of a patient’s condition.

Teaching

Early in developing the cranial model, Dr. Sutherland treated the cranial sutures directly using gentle, precise methods. Passed from Dr. Sutherland to A.T. Still's grandson, George Andrew Laughlin, Jr., DO, and then to Edward G. Stiles, DO, FAAO(dist.), these treatment methods are now being taught again. These treatment methods are simple to learn, easy to apply, and reach internal structures that other treatment methods can't access.

This site is mainly set up to house the curriculum and schedule for teaching the cranial sutures, as taught by Dr. Stiles and passed down to his students. Many of us have been studying and teaching with him for 25+ years now. I am not one to usually talk about pedigree, but in the case of cranial sutures, it matters. I have seen other courses that call themselves sutural courses, taught by well-known and respected instructors, but they focus on a technique or limit the teaching to the bones that attach only to the temporal. That is not to suggest they are inherently bad, but the way it was taught to Dr. Stiles, treating the sutures is a way of thinking about the cranium and the body attached to it, not a technique for treating. The method of assessment, the thought process behind where to begin and how to treat, and how it fine-tunes your approach is what will always set this course apart. I firmly believe it delivers results that no other approach can.