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Osteopathy in the Cranial Field - FAQs

What's Osteopathy in the Cranial Field (OCF)?

In short, OCF is a type of Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment that addresses the treatment of the head:  Its bones, connective tissues, muscles and nerves. It has been practiced in the US for almost 80 years and although its use and understanding continues to grow the fundamentals involved in its application remain the same.

How do you know that the bones move?

There have been numerous studies looking at bone movement.  While I was in Osteopathic Medical School one of my professors actually drilled small screws into a cats skull to measure this movement.  In another study he found that a very sensitive probe could measure the same movement with just skin contact.  This was probably much to the relief of the cats and to us because he was able to measure the same type of movement on humans with similar skin probes.  In the last of these classic studies he was able to correlate movement that the probes detected with what trained professionals in OCF feel with their hands.

What kinds of things can you treat with OCF?

  • Headache
  • Neck pain
  • TMJ disorder
  • Colic (yep, as in the kind babies get)
  • Torticollis (yep, as in the kind babies get)
  • Just about anything that requires your head to be attached to your body

Is there any difference between OCF and Cranio-sacral TherapyTM?

Cranio-sacral TherapyTM, also know as CST, is a simplified version of head treatment based upon OCF that was derived by an osteopathic physician.  He simplified many of the techniques of OCF so that it could be taught to non-physicians.  This enabled the treatment of the head to be helpful to a larger group of people than it was available to with just Osteopathic physicians performing it. 

Does Dr. Danto have any special training in OCF?

Dr. Danto has participated as both a student and teaching assistant in both basic and advanced OCF courses.  He has attained a Certificate in Special Proficiency in Osteopathy in the Cranial Field from the Cranial Academy.  This certificate included both practical and written examinations.