[log in to unmask] writes:
<< To address that particular issue I guess I would have to agree - there is
a dearth of good research to back it all up. That is in turn a shame because
it is an enormously powerful treatment modality that finds usefulness in the
management of many somatic complaints including spinal dysfunction and
headache complaint. >>
***Interestingly, I have seen some folk who have received craniosacral
therapy for years without any lasting benefits. In some cases, close friends
of mine have come back after treatment displaying more symptoms than before
concerning chronic back pain and medication dependence. Why is it that we
never hear about these cases, unlike the situation in allopathic medicine
where lack of success is often described? How is that such subtle, gentle
methods can actually cause deterioration of a condition? That is one
observation which intrigues me. While I can appreciate that overzealous
manipulation or deep tissue work can sometimes exacerbate a condition, I
really wonder why such a gentle method can do likewise. Maybe the mind can
also produce adverse outcomes even with craniosacral work?
Moreover, I have seen numerous massage therapists significantly manage severe
headaches and back pain, so I am not at all convinced that craniosacral
therapy is more potent than competent massage.
In my original letter I stated that plenty of research has shown that the
placebo effect can be enormously powerful in a large percentage of all
medical approaches, so success is no proof whatsoever that subtle
manipulations of cranial structures or energy fields have anything to do with
the healing process. The issue of acceptable scientific proof is what my
letter requested, not anecdotal evidence which is in abundance for virtually
every type of accepted and fringe therapy in this sector of our galaxy. I
have regularly witnessed therapeutic touch 'work', as I have many other
complementary methods, but that does mean to say that what I have witnessed
is anything more than further evidence of a "faith factor" or placebo effect?
To put it very bluntly - let us save the anecdotes for patients who will
become even more placebo susceptible by hearing glowing testimonials and
anecdotal miracles like that, but let us demand the scientific evidence to
show that something more than a placebo effect is at play. I don't for one
minute deny that craniosacral therapy, postural integration, energy field
incantations, Filipino psychic surgery or rolling in cow fertiliser may heal
a given disorder but I do not accept the theories explaining why these
rituals work, until I have seen some clear scientific evidence.
Dr Mel C Siff
Denver, USA
http://www.egroups.com/group/supertraining
|