147 lines
7.5 KiB
XML
147 lines
7.5 KiB
XML
import Article from "@/components/Article";
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const ArticleCranialOsteopathy = () => {
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return (
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<Article
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title="Cranial Osteopathy"
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author="Richard A. Feely, D.O., FAAO, FCA, FAAMA"
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>
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<p>
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Cranial osteopathy, also known as osteopathy in the cranial field, was
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developed as a natural extension of Dr. Andrew Taylor Still’s – the
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founder of the osteopathic profession – philosophical and therapeutic
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approaches to health through manipulation. William Gardner Sutherland
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D.O. was the founder of cranial osteopathy, utilizing the body’s
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inherent forces to overcome membranous articular restrictions
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principally in the head and spine with secondary effects throughout the
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rest of the body.
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</p>
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<p>
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A cranial osteopath is an osteopathic physician and surgeon in the
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United States. In other countries, the osteopathic physician has a
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limited license. He or she diagnoses the patient holistically, body,
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mind and spirit with particular detail to the musculoskeletal system and
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the cranial sacral mechanism in particular. The cranial sacral mechanism
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is a dynamic force within the living human body. It is the Qi or energy
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of the central nervous system and is reflected throughout the rest of
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the body.
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</p>
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<p>
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Cranial osteopathy is a sub-specialty within osteopathic manipulative
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medicine. It has a unique defined body of knowledge, educational
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requirements and specific diagnostic treatment procedures that are part
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and parcel of a complete osteopathic manipulative medicine specialist
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practice. Diligent study of anatomy, physiology and pathology is
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required to become a cranial osteopath. True system of preventive
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medicine, treating the whole person, not just the disease.
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</p>
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<p>
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Osteopathic medical schools teach courses in all branches of medicine
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and surgery in the United States and various manipulative techniques. It
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takes four years of training in osteopathic medical schools in the
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United States. Most D.O.’s seek additional training in cranial
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osteopathy after graduation. Most osteopathic medical schools in the
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United States involve two hundred to three hundred hours of osteopathic
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manipulative diagnostic and treatment education
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</p>
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<h2>The Cranial Academy</h2>
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<p>
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The professional organization representing D.O.’s who practice cranial
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osteopathy, The Cranial Academy, requires a 40 hours basic course just
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for membership and after that most osteopathic physicians have an
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additional 100 to 200 hours of training in osteopathic manipulative
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medicine related to the cranial field. In addition, The Cranial Academy
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offers competency testing and fellowship certification for D.O’s
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receiving national prominence.
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</p>
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<p>
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Cranial osteopaths were originally labeled as quacks for identifying
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that the bones of the skull were slightly mobile and that this mobility
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allowed for membranous articular strains that could cause dysfunction
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and pain. Today, scientist and many M.D’s through the use of high-tech
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diagnostic equipment agree that there is a motion present in the
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cranium.
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</p>
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<p>
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There are many other therapies and therapist out there that claim to be
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cranial osteopaths. But only physicians (M.D’s. D.O.’s and dentists) can
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be trained by The Cranial Academy, the national organization recognized
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by the American Academy of Osteopathy and the American Osteopathic
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Association (AOA) as the professional organization in this field.
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</p>
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<p>
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Cranial osteopathy cannot be effectively learned via the Internet or
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reading books. It is a psychomotor skill be best taught with hands on
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guidance. It must be practiced on living human heads with a skilled
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trained practitioners providing guidance, experience, knowledge, skill
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and information to the student.
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</p>
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<h2>The Rhythmic Impulse</h2>
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<p>
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The body has a self healing mechanisms. One of these mechanisms is the
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third pulse of the body that emanates from the central nervous system.
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This inherent motility of the brain and spinal cord occurs with the
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initial inspiration of the breath of life at birth. This primary
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respiratory mechanism called the cranial rhythmic impulse which is
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associated with a very slight coiling and uncoiling of the spinal cord
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and the central nervous system. The bones of the head and the central
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nervous system become slightly wider and shorter from front to back in
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the inspiration or flexion phase of the sphenobasilar synchondrosis. In
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the exhalation phase, the primary phase, the primary respiratory
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mechanism moves in just opposite direction. The head and central nervous
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system becomes longer and slightly wider. This amount of movement is in
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the millimeter range. One measurement placed it within hundredths of an
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inch. But this varies according to where one measures the motion, at
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which suture.
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</p>
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<p>
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The fluctuation of the cerebral spinal fluid occurs with the motion of
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the billions of glial cells in the central nervous system and this
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movement occurs in the relatively closed container of the cranium. As
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the brain and spinal cord change shape and go through the cycle of
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inhalation and exhalation/flexion and extension, the cerebral spinal
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fluid fluctuates back and forth within the spaces of the brain and
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spinal cord. This helps push the cerebral spinal fluid through the small
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channels around the nerved down the spinal cord and exiting the central
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nervous system into the peripheral nervous system. The motion of the
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membranes of the head called the dura mater that surround the bones and
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house the vessels in the skull. The dura membranes appear as the three
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attached sickle shaped membranes forming a tripod to support the brain
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and skull.
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</p>
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<p>
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They are called the falx cerebri and the tentorum cerebelli with a small
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slip dividing the left and right half of the cerebellum. They limit and
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control the slight motion of the bones of the head effecting the whole
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fasat mechanism involving the cranium to the sacrum. The dura membranes
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are firmly attached at the foramen magnum, second and third cervical
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vertebra and the sacral segment. The 26 bones of the head are in slight
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rhythmic motion along with the cerebral spinal fluid, the central
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nervous system, the dural membranes and the sacrum. These cranial bones
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are architecturally designed to fit together with various grooves and
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gear-like articulation with each other. The sutures are comprised on
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connective tissues, membranes and blood vessels with elastic tissue
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identified microscopically. Since the dura is firmly attached at the
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base of the skull and the sacrum, motion of the cranial mechanism is
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transmitted into the sacrum. The cranium and the sacrum work together in
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a flexion and extension phases. This constant rhythmic motion moves the
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sacrum into nutation and antinutation.
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</p>
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</Article>
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);
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};
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export default ArticleCranialOsteopathy;
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