Is Craniosacral Therapy Effective for Migraine? A Research Study

A survey was conducted in one headache clinic in the UK to determine how often people suffering from headaches use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).  Out of 84 patients, 32% had used used CAM, and no user perceived this as having made their headache worse.  The Headache Impact Test (HIT-6) was used to measure the impact of headaches on daily life, yielding a median score of 63.  According to the authors of the HIT-6 questionnaire, this score on the HIT-6 Questionnaire indicates that headaches seriously affect the lives of the responders.  The HIT-6 score was the only variable found to be a significant predictor of CAM use.

Upledger pointed out that Craniosacral Therapy (CST) is suitable for migraine treatment.  However, a systematic review of craniosacral therapy did not demonstrate sufficient evidence to support the effects of craniosacral therapy.  Many health practitioners (and Fred Samorodin, RPT, is one!) have studied craniosacral therapy and use it as a …therapy for their clients, without firm (published) evidence.  The first author of this paper (Thuridur Solveig Arnadottir), a physical therapist has completed several post graduate courses in craniosacral therapy (as has Fred Samorodin, RPT), was eager to investigate craniosacral therapy to see if it had therapeutic impact against migraines.  It was decided to study the effects of craniosacral therapy on migraines with the prime question being: “Does CST alleviate migraine headaches?”

Conclusion

More knowledge is needed to determine if , and how, craniosacral therapy affects migraines.  However, (the authors’) results indicate that craniosacral therapy could be considered as a potential therapy for migraine sufferers with the aim of improving quality of life.

Thuridur Solveig Arnadottir and Arun K. Sigurdardottir. Complimentary Therapies in Clinical Practice (Volume 19, Issue 1. Pp 11-14, February 2013)   University of Akureyri, Solborg, Iceland.  Is craniosacral therapy effective for migraine? Tested with HIT-6 Questionnaire.