Craniosacral therapy is one of the safe, alternative therapies the BART Foundation believes may help brain injury survivors. The BART Foundation aims to promote better outcomes for TBI/ABI survivors by answering three questions – which alternative therapies are likely to work, where can they be found, and how can they be afforded? One of the ways we fulfill our mission is by carefully watching global research and clinical trial outcomes and sharing that information, in user-friendly language, with the TBI/ABI community.
In this research article from the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, researchers investigated the use of CranioSacral Therapy (CST) in patients with Post-Concussion Syndrome (PCS) and collected patient-reported perceptions of outcomes. This two-part, longitudinal study was conducted through a chart review of the target group, followed by a Patient-reported Treatment Outcome Survey (PTOS).
A sample of 212 patients with a historical incidence of head trauma not requiring hospitalization was obtained through the medical records department dating back ten years. Inclusion criteria for further chart review (n = 67) was determined by identifying patients with a confirmed concussion and presenting symptoms that specifically sought CST as a treatment option.
Findings: Patient-reported changes of PCS symptoms is critical when evaluating treatment options. A sizable portion of patients in both groups reported a positive effect on their symptoms by CST. Patients indicated personal meaning to the CST treatment through their voluntary use of multiple sessions. A high percentage indicated the likelihood of referring others with PCS for CST. It’s important to note that CST is an experiential treatment that addresses subjective levels of dysfunction, thus it is the patient deciding the value of an intervention. Based on the findings of this review, we believe that CST is a low-risk, conservative treatment option for PCS sub-types worthy of further clinical study.
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