Introducing the sacrum
The sacrum is a bone shaped like an upside down triangle and is situated at the back of the pelvis, the base of your spine sits on it.
It is 'wedged' between the two halves of the pelvis, known as the ilia. Where the ilia connect with the sacrum, the sacro-iliac joints are formed. These are often tender to touch where pelvic problems exist. Where the bottom lumbar vertebra, L5, sits on the sacrum, you have the lumbar-sacral joints, the major causes of low back pain and sciatica. Conveniently, the sacrum is the perfect size and shape to sit in one's hand, ideal for cranio-sacral therapy. In cranio-sacral motion, as the cranium is expanding and contracting, the sacrum simultaneously rocks gently, backward and forward between the two ilea, keeping the low back and pelvic floor flexible. Cranio-sacral motion is, thus, a coordinated movement pattern involving the cranium, sacrum and entire spine.
Perhaps you are beginning to appreciate the important relationship between the cranium and pelvis, and the potential value of cranio-sacral therapy in the treatment of head, pelvic and spinal problems and injuries. For example, retained cranial distortion from birth is a frequent cause of spinal and pelvic imbalances in adulthood.
Our limbs, that is our shoulder girdles and arms, and our hips and legs, also move within the pattern of cranio-sacral motion, creating a subtle inward and outward rotation movement, which can often be felt by holding the feet, or hands. This is why, when I begin assessing a patient, I hold their ankles. I feel for the quality and amplitude of the cranio-sacral motion as it moves the feet, and then follow the movement pattern up through the legs, hips, pelvis and onwards up the spine towards the cranium. The whole body's balance and alignment can be tested in this way, and often particular problem areas isolated.
In essence, cranio-sacral motion is reflected in all the body's structural tissues. This includes the bones, fasciae, muscles, ligaments and joints. It is also evident in the cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF). The visceral organs exhibit particular movement patterns too; working with the organs in this way is known as 'visceral technique'.
Cranio-sacral motion is, thus, the intrinsic movement pattern of all living tissue, principally involving the tissues of the head, pelvis, spine and the enclosed central nervous system, but including the entire body. A freely mobile, fluid and balanced cranio-sacral motion pattern throughout the body is essential to full health, total well being and self-healing.
When felt, cranio-sacral motion is a regular, wave-like pulsation both moving through tissue and moving the tissue, it is like the ebb and flow of the tide. It is from the exploration and understanding of this movement pattern and its relevance to disease processes, that cranio-sacral therapy has developed from its origins with William Garner Sutherland, to the therapy, as it is available today. The American, John Upledger, through his workshops, courses and books, was particularly instrumental in making cranio-sacral therapy accessible to a greater number of practitioners other than osteopaths, and particularly in America, to the general public.