What is cranial manual therapy?

In the CRAFTA® education, cranial manual therapy means: assessment and treatment of the cranium (head) and the face with passive movements (movements executed by the therapist). During the examination three parameters are examined: resistance, rebounce and sensory response.

• Resistance: is the start and the quality of the pressure, which is analyzed during the increased pressure of the passive movements (Maitland et al 2013)
• Rebound: a reaction of the cranial bone tissue on a change in tension by an external force like a passive movement This reaction is based on the cranial architecture and the transducing of forces between the bone structures. This is called the  stresstransducer system (Oudhof 2001, Proffit 2013).
• Personal (individual) response These may be devided in
  • Sensory responses the personal experienced by the person during performing of cranial passive movement, e.g. pain, dizziness, tinnitus, heavy body feeling and others.
  • Physical responses; the body, physical responses related with the cranial passive movement  like skin redness, changed muscle  tone , nasal respiration, motor endurance