Cranial is a joke...

[DannyDeRosa]

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Cranial is a Joke and so is anyone who uses it! I defy you to provide legit research proving me wrong. I think it should be tossed out of medical education period. There is nothing worse than being in a rotation with a cranio-sacral therapy quack and having to go along with his/her enthusiasm about it to get an A in OPP. I dont feel the CRI becuase it isnt there...If it isnt HVLA or ME I simply dont believe its worth a dollar to medicare or my education.
btw.....has anyone else looked up osteopathic manipulative therapy on "uptodate.com"......its sad just how little real evidence osteopathy has acrued in 118 years.

 

[DocEspana]

Cranial is a Joke and so is anyone who uses it! I defy you to provide legit research proving me wrong. I think it should be tossed out of medical education period. There is nothing worse than being in a rotation with a cranio-sacral therapy quack and having to go along with his/her enthusiasm about it to get an A in OPP. I dont feel the CRI becuase it isnt there...If it isnt HVLA or ME I simply dont believe its worth a dollar to medicare or my education.
btw.....has anyone else looked up osteopathic manipulative therapy on "uptodate.com"......its sad just how little real evidence osteopathy has acrued in 118 years.

I wont touch the cranial issue here cause I cant figure out ass from elbow about it. But I will say this: You have rotations with OPP docs???

I'm sorry. Thats just unfortunate. If this is the trend for most schools I'm glad TouroCOM sort of sold out and doesnt require a single minute of OMT in 3rd or 4th year. Though we aren't totally without it. There are ways to get training at one hospital and ways to work with specific OMT docs at another. No required OMM at any of them, as far as Ive been told. It lets most of us, who want to learn the techniques but not actively practice them for the rest of our lives, sort of get on with other clinical learning activities. And we wont have to deal with cranial advocates if we really dont understand it well.

of course the flip side is that if you're really into OMT, we have very limited "direct opportunities" in our clinical years.

 

[DannyDeRosa]

your damn tootin we do. we must do a month with a physician that does at least 50% OMM visits in his/her office.

i have heard that touro is like an MD sleeper cell in the osteopathic nation.

good for you guys i guess. but really, imagine spending 8hrs a day watching a guy touch heads and not move his hands. and then he looks at you and says....try feeling the CRI in the patients knee while im up here.....basically looking at you like....if you dont believe me your not a real osteopath.

i cant believe i have to share a title with this dingle berry.

 

[JeetKuneDo]

Does cranial at least feel like a good head massage? If so, if I had the money I'd probably pay for 15 min of cranial.

 

[DocEspana]

Does cranial at least feel like a good head massage? If so, if I had the money I'd probably pay for 15 min of cranial.

Except for a few of the secondary treatments, no. The primary treatment is long periods of time finding a quiet still place while supine, while the doctor places such minute pressure on your head that you wouldn't notice. So that primary treatment would be less of a head massage and more of a quiet meditation/relaxation time since the pressure on your head on literally quite minimal.


then again, something like CV4 technique does feel pretty cool. But that is not that frequently used and its also still pretty gentle in the grand scheme of things.

 

[p30doc]

cranial is good for giving your enemies really bad headaches

 

[Dissected]

Does cranial at least feel like a good head massage? If so, if I had the money I'd probably pay for 15 min of cranial.

One of my best naps of the year was in our dark, quiet lab while we were feeling each other's CRI's 😉

 

[Flushot]

If I remember correctly, cranial isn't on the COMLEX.

 

[DocEspana]

If I remember correctly, cranial isn't on the COMLEX.

If i remember correctly, cranial is actually all over the damned comlex and i LOATHE it. Not so much the techniques that i loathe, but that they get such a big representation on the COMLEX. Currently studying for the comlex and it makes me nuts that there are this many pages dedicated to it. (so honestly, im basing my assumption on hearing its all over it from other's anecdotes and from the size of the chapter in the kaplan review book for it)

 

[zac16125]

Cranial IS a joke. It IS on the comlex. And it IS giving osteopathic physicians a bad name. I'm all for anything that makes people feel better, and think in the right situation OMM can be very beneficial to certain people (I know I feel better after some solid neck/back HVLA), but cranial is just ridiculous.

 

[Flushot]

I stand corrected then. I guess saving OMM for the very end, after UWorld, Goljan, etc. might not be the best idea.

 

[Daedra22]

Cranial IS a joke. It IS on the comlex. And it IS giving osteopathic physicians a bad name. I'm all for anything that makes people feel better, and think in the right situation OMM can be very beneficial to certain people (I know I feel better after some solid neck/back HVLA), but cranial is just ridiculous.

This is what I don't understand. OMM has some great things to offer--most of the muscle energy, HVLA and even some of the indirect stuff (JSCS) is very helpful. Why can't we drop the things that don't work (cranial!!!) and keep the stuff that does? Sigh.

 

[DrWBD]

i cant believe i have to share a title with this dingle berry.

get used to it

 

[DocEspana]

This is what I don't understand. OMM has some great things to offer--most of the muscle energy, HVLA and even some of the indirect stuff (JSCS) is very helpful. Why can't we drop the things that don't work (cranial!!!) and keep the stuff that does? Sigh.

wait a minute..... wait a minute.... THATS GENIUS!!

but on a serious note: i've wondered the same thing plenty of times. Hell, keep it in the curriculum but off the COMLEX. I dont want heavily contested material, that adherents fully admit most students can't successfully feel, on my tests.

 

[Septo Shock]

cranial is good for giving your enemies really bad headaches

Cranials is a POS. A few ppl in my class including myself developed bad migraines that lasted a few weeks after our first CRI manipulation lab 👎 A good gunner weapon indeed!

 

[PistolPete]

I had to do a MONTH of OMM, with an OMM preceptor who apparently is a cranial expert. UGH. Although the preceptor was nice and did plenty of other OMM techniques (thank goodness), I couldn't wait to get that month over with. What a waste. Couldn't wait to get back to real medicine. My 2nd least favorite rotation, only slightly better than ob/gyn.

 

[JaggerPlate]

I had to do a MONTH of OMM, with an OMM preceptor who apparently is a cranial expert. UGH. Although the preceptor was nice and did plenty of other OMM techniques (thank goodness), I couldn't wait to get that month over with. What a waste. Couldn't wait to get back to real medicine. My 2nd least favorite rotation, only slightly better than ob/gyn.

I actually think a OMM rotation sounds cool (2 weeks probably better than 4), but like you said, I'd want to spend it with someone who integrates OMM into a practice - FM, sports med, PM&R etc, and not someone who decorates their office with dream catchers and practices cranial for 7 hours a day. I'd like to see the legit techniques performed on patients with real dysfunction.

 

[PistolPete]

Actually, my OMM rotation did use traditional techniques, in addition to cranial, but taking 2 hours to perform OMM on a patient really was not for me. If you're into PM&R and neuro, than an OMM rotation can really be useful, but it just re-inforced for me how little interest I have in the neuro-musculoskeletal systems. Also helped me realize that I do not want to deal with chronic problems, which is what you'll get with PM&R and Neuro, at least from what I've seen.

Glad it's over with. I guess realizing what you DON'T want to do is just as valuable as knowing what you DO want, right?

 

[JaggerPlate]

Actually, my OMM rotation did use traditional techniques, in addition to cranial, but taking 2 hours to perform OMM on a patient really was not for me. If you're into PM&R and neuro, than an OMM rotation can really be useful, but it just re-inforced for me how little interest I have in the neuro-musculoskeletal systems. Also helped me realize that I do not want to deal with chronic problems, which is what you'll get with PM&R and Neuro, at least from what I've seen.

Glad it's over with. I guess realizing what you DON'T want to do is just as valuable as knowing what you DO want, right?

2 hours to perform OMM on one patient??? Wow. Yeah, seriously I can't imagine watching that for 2 hours. I've read on some OMM guru's websites (the cash based guys 😎) that the initial appointment is like an hour to go through everything, get a history, treat, etc, but follow ups are scheduled for like 45 and usually take 30 min.

 

[Lokhtar]

I was under the impression that you learned it, got tested on it on the COMLEX and then forgot about it. I didn't know some schools required a whole OMM rotation? Kind of crazy.

 

[JaggerPlate]

I was under the impression that you learned it, got tested on it on the COMLEX and then forgot about it. I didn't know some schools required a whole OMM rotation? Kind of crazy.

Not all of them do. My school requires either a PM&R, Ortho, OMM, or Neuro rotation during 4th year.

 

[brucecanbeatyou]

Not all of them do. My school requires either a PM&R, Ortho, OMM, or Neuro rotation during 4th year.

I wonder what percentage of students choose to do the OMM rotation.

 

[st2205]

I wonder what percentage of students choose to do the OMM rotation.

I think it would be highly dependent on where you do your rotations at. If you stay in Kirksville, you could surely do one, but for instance where I'm going, the required third year rotation that "must have a strong OMM component" doesn't even exist.

 

[zac16125]

I actually think a OMM rotation sounds cool (2 weeks probably better than 4), but like you said, I'd want to spend it with someone who integrates OMM into a practice - FM, sports med, PM&R etc, and not someone who decorates their office with dream catchers and practices cranial for 7 hours a day. I'd like to see the legit techniques performed on patients with real dysfunction.

What's wrong with dream catchers?

Also, I've heard you can make significant dough with a cash only OMM practice. I have no interest whatsoever in doing something along those lines, or really doing OMM in general (outside of cracking some necks and backs in my spare time), but if its your thing its certainly something that can be financially rewarding.

 

[JaggerPlate]

What's wrong with dream catchers?

Also, I've heard you can make significant dough with a cash only OMM practice. I have no interest whatsoever in doing something along those lines, or really doing OMM in general (outside of cracking some necks and backs in my spare time), but if its your thing its certainly something that can be financially rewarding.

Yup. Cash only is the way to go ... but keep in mind that it is much, much more difficult than graduating, doing an internship, practicing some OMM, and hanging a shingle at $300 an hour with full volume 5 days a week.

The guys who are killing it in cash based OMM practices (and they are out there ... trust me) are the people who are truly, truly VERY good at OMM and the skills bring them the WOM, referrals, and repeat business that it takes to survive in a game like cash based OMM.

I personally know of a few out in So. Cal -one guy is really big into cranial, though he performs all OMM, and charges probably somewhere between 200 - 300 an hour ... clearly no volume problem, laughable malpractice, no overhead, etc. I also spoke with someone on these forums once who went to a cashed based OMM lady with an average of 360 an hour (she did it in 45 minute sessions, but worked out to 360). We did a little math at 360 an hour * 8 hours a day * light, light overhead ... and it came out nicely 🙂

 

[HealingDoc]

I completed a 4 week OMM rotation in a rural location and found it to be extremely helpful. My preceptor saw medicare patients and those who wanted to pay with cash. She had medi-cal patients go to her student clinic to be treated for free. We performed H&P's, presented to her, and treated with her. By far, the technique I used the most was muscle energy- ME is my favorite because I truly believe that the effects last longer if the patient engages his/her own muscles. I also treated with counterstrain and lighter myofascial techniques (especially in her chronic pain patients). I saw some patients more than once so it was nice to see their improvement over time. We did cranial together but not an excessive amount.

I wish posters would look up prior threads about cranial because no less than one month ago there was a discussion about this- and I am sure there have been several others. I understand the need to vent about cranial because its frustrating that there's just not enough empirical evidence to support its use in the clinical setting. There are several studies in the works right now (even one regarding babies in the NICU) so maybe this will change. I was extremely skeptical about cranial when I first started learning about it as a 1st year, but I didn't give up on it right away. I aced the written tests on cranial and followed instructions in lab, but still didn't feel like I was getting anywhere with it. I decided to attend the cranial course in San Diego, mostly because I planned to be down there for the summer any how, and I knew it would help me kick butt on my neuro exams at the beginning of 2nd year. It was only have 40 hours of close instruction and 2 on 1 time with trainers that I felt like I could really grasp the essence of cranial. The rest of this is on the other thread and it may be worth reading if you have the time- my post, followed by dr. skeptismo, then my response to his post.


http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=10512690#post10512690

 

[RetinaTazer]

People must have wondered why me a subspecialist has been advocating osteopathic medicine. I have seen structural misalignement has affected one patient viscerally or more specifically the sympathetic autoregulation dysfunction (what i called it) that modern medicine has no answer for.

 

[Lokhtar]

Not all of them do. My school requires either a PM&R, Ortho, OMM, or Neuro rotation during 4th year.

Yea that seems reasonable and the way to go.

What's wrong with dream catchers?

Also, I've heard you can make significant dough with a cash only OMM practice. I have no interest whatsoever in doing something along those lines, or really doing OMM in general (outside of cracking some necks and backs in my spare time), but if its your thing its certainly something that can be financially rewarding.

Well (and note I am only talking about cranial, as the thread is about that), doing a sham procedure and charging for it is, IMO, unethical. Especially as a physician where you have a responsibility to the patient as well as the profession.

I don't want to open a can of worms here, but I have a distaste for snake oil salesmen like heomeopaths and their ilk, and cranial is just as bunk. Perhaps you weren't talking about cranial, and then that's fair enough.

Now other parts of OMM? I can't comment as I haven't done research. I think there've been some studies that show at least some of it is effective for back pain and such (and maybe other things too), and if it's been shown to work, then obviously it's more than OK. I don't think it necessarily works for the reasons they say it does, but if it does, at least it's a treatment that's effective and I don't mind it (I mean we're still not quite sure how anesthesia works).

 

[tjamrose]

I don't know that I buy into a lot of the theory behind cranial OMT but for those people who are not so closed minded about it learn some really good techniques that I have seen work on people with chronic migraines. I will tell you right now that I have seen frontal lift used on a patient with migraines and now only has an episode a couple times a year as opposed to weekly.

You may not agree with the theory they teach you but the techniques are powerful and helpful to a lot of people. By degrading our profession and techniques that can help people, we are only hurting the Ostepathic profession.

Fact: people present with different cranial patterns that change depending on pain and dysfunction they are having

Fact: I have seen changes in this pattern after cranial OMT

Fact: I have seen patient have relief from Migraine pain after cranial OMT!

 

[Lokhtar]

Fact: people present with different cranial patterns that change depending on pain and dysfunction they are having

Fact: I have seen changes in this pattern after cranial OMT

Fact: I have seen patient have relief from Migraine pain after cranial OMT!

The plural of anecdote is not data. Your "facts" are meaningless from a scientific perspective.

Studies have shown otherwise (e.g, no interreliability, no better outcomes) - I would like to see studies to support the efficacy of cranial.

 

[DocEspana]

I always come back to when my doctors sited a study to show that cranial was possible. It showed that tightly calibrated measurements show that .08mm of movement is possible at the joints.

ummm.... i dont think .08mm is a win. If the brain/cranial cavity is that high pressure that a .08mm is clinically relevant then I am terrified about how little pressure changes are required for high pressure pathologies.

Though i definitely will say that I wont rule out the efficacy of cranial. But some of the current proposed mechanisms for how it works seem somewhat strained given the limited mobility shown.

 

[Dissected]

You may not agree with the theory they teach you but the techniques are powerful and helpful to a lot of people. By degrading our profession and techniques that can help people, we are only hurting the Ostepathic profession.

Fact: people present with different cranial patterns that change depending on pain and dysfunction they are having

Fact: I have seen changes in this pattern after cranial OMT

Fact: I have seen patient have relief from Migraine pain after cranial OMT!

I think that there might be efficacy in its utilization..but the theories that are proposed for its mechanism are a complete joke. The evidence that "supports" the underlying "physiology" of cranial is laughable at best. And what really chaps my ***** is that I have to study these fairy tales for my board exam. Why can't we just say that 'we don't know why these techniques work, but they are efficacious in treating migraines an other conditions.'

Furthermore, if it is so efficacious, why aren't there any reliable RCT's that show it works better than placebo effect? Maybe there are some and I just haven't seen them..

If it works, great and lets learn the techniques. But the "theory" behind why it works has no place in a modern, academic curriculum.

 

[DrWBD]

I think that there might be efficacy in its utilization..but the theories that are proposed for its mechanism are a complete joke. The evidence that "supports" the underlying "physiology" of cranial is laughable at best. And what really chaps my ***** is that I have to study these fairy tales for my board exam. Why can't we just say that 'we don't know why these techniques work, but they are efficacious in treating migraines an other conditions.'

Furthermore, if it is so efficacious, why aren't there any reliable RCT's that show it works better than placebo effect? Maybe there are some and I just haven't seen them..

If it works, great and lets learn the techniques. But the "theory" behind why it works has no place in a modern, academic curriculum.

Cranial osteopathy is a textbook example of cargo cult science. It's interesting how osteopathic students are expected to spend four years of college learning the scientific method, then abandon it after setting foot into an OMT class.

 

[ajndersn]

One of my best naps of the year was in our dark, quiet lab while we were feeling each other's CRI's 😉

Mine to! Had an all nighter for Micro and slept during CRI.

 

[MRSAful Fate]

Cranial osteopathy is a textbook example of cargo cult science. It's interesting how osteopathic students are expected to spend four years of college learning the scientific method, then abandon it after setting foot into an OMT class.

Richard Feynman is the man!

I'm curious if anyone has brought up their concerns with faculty or with a preceptor while on OMM clinicals. If so, how were those concerns received and addressed?

 

[DuxburyPembroke]

I'm curious if anyone has brought up their concerns with faculty...

One doesn't.

 

[MRSAful Fate]

One doesn't.

Why not? What consequences would you expect for questioning the scientific validity of a treatment that doesn't seem to have any evidence behind it?

 

[DuxburyPembroke]

Why not? What consequences would you expect for questioning the scientific validity of a treatment that doesn't seem to have any evidence behind it?

[YOUTUBE]6p4T7_XI7WM[/YOUTUBE]
"I find your lack of faith disturbing."

 

[DD214_DOC]

Why not? What consequences would you expect for questioning the scientific validity of a treatment that doesn't seem to have any evidence behind it?

OMM faculty protect the sanctity of OMT with the zeal of any other fanatical cultist.

Oops

 

[Dissected]

Why not? What consequences would you expect for questioning the scientific validity of a treatment that doesn't seem to have any evidence behind it?

Our school is actually performing a program-wide study to gauge the perception of cranial OMM among faculty, students and administration. It is being conducted by the dean, and it is endorsed by the OMM department. They are seriously considering the idea of sending it to other programs as well. So some of you might see it in the near future! I think the results will be pretty bleak for cranial, lol.

 

[taylormade2006]

That sounds interesting, DoktorB, but it'll probably still be a part of the curriculum as long as it still shows up on COMLEX.

 

[DD214_DOC]

Here's a neat trick I tried out during med school that produced interesting results.

During an OMT practical or demonstration, go through the motions of "diagnosing" a dysfunction. Then, make something up. Anything. Make up every bit of it. Then, go to the faculty member who is supposed to check your accuracy and present your completely fabricated findings. They will exam the patient, and lo and behold will agree with your imaginary diagnosis.

I tried this repeatedly with the same results. Give it a try for yourself.

As someone who enjoyed and did well in logical areas of study to include mathematics and physics, it was very hard to swallow OMT. Most of it just doesn't make any logical sense. I crack my knuckles all the time. Should I develop a routine in doing so, name it after myself, then make ridiculous claims regarding all the ailments it cures? OMT is a remnant of the era of medicine that was performed alongside snakeoil salesmen. Unfortunately, it's the "only thing" that gives a point to the existence of osteopathic medicine, although I would argue the whole, "holistic primary-care trained first, specialist second" philosophy stuff isn't bad either. Too bad they don't push that.

 

[MRSAful Fate]

Our school is actually performing a program-wide study to gauge the perception of cranial OMM among faculty, students and administration. It is being conducted by the dean, and it is endorsed by the OMM department. They are seriously considering the idea of sending it to other programs as well. So some of you might see it in the near future! I think the results will be pretty bleak for cranial, lol.

It's reassuring to hear some self-reflection is going on in the OMM world, but will what your program is doing have any wide effect? I find it shocking that Craniosacral is going to be on my boards. In 110 years no compelling evidence has been gained to support its use, but we're expected to choke down this drivel and not object or ask questions? I just don't have enough tact to keep my mouth shut about something like that. Hopefully that won't result in me failing OMT or being blackballed for my "lack of faith".

 

[DocEspana]

Here's a neat trick I tried out during med school that produced interesting results.

During an OMT practical or demonstration, go through the motions of "diagnosing" a dysfunction. Then, make something up. Anything. Make up every bit of it. Then, go to the faculty member who is supposed to check your accuracy and present your completely fabricated findings. They will exam the patient, and lo and behold will agree with your imaginary diagnosis.

I tried this repeatedly with the same results. Give it a try for yourself.

Never thought I'd defend Touro-NY's OMM department (not a knock on them, but we're one of the least zealotous departments out there. we treat it as an optional modality that we study a lot. not much more), but this wouldn't work at our dept. I myself have been corrected many times for such nonsense on practicals and told to recheck it because my diagnosis was not correct. This was despite 'playing the part' down to the letter. They really do check you and aren't afraid to call you out on being wrong.

Which, as i said above, is funny given that we are one of the most laid back OMM depts out there. What are the chances that we'd be the school where you cant 'do the moves right' and give a fabricated but possible diagnosis.

I should add that this above anecdote doesn't apply to cranial. our dept head has zero faith in it, even though we have some cranial performing docs on staff. Because of how the dept head felt, we didnt have to do cranial in any practical because 'not everyone can become adept at feeling cranial rhythms no matter how much practice they put in' (aka he feels its garbage) so we simply demonstrated techniques on a skull and talked theory for the cranial portion of our practicals. No need to feel actual people for that one subject.

 

[SmokD]

Here's a neat trick I tried out during med school that produced interesting results.

During an OMT practical or demonstration, go through the motions of "diagnosing" a dysfunction. Then, make something up. Anything. Make up every bit of it. Then, go to the faculty member who is supposed to check your accuracy and present your completely fabricated findings. They will exam the patient, and lo and behold will agree with your imaginary diagnosis.

I tried this repeatedly with the same results. Give it a try for yourself.

Yep, tried that. Failed my practical. The Doc said the correct dysfunction was "There is no somatic dysfunction." This is the same person DocEspana referenced in the previous post. 100% true story.

 

[HealingDoc]

Cranial osteopathy is a textbook example of cargo cult science. It's interesting how osteopathic students are expected to spend four years of college learning the scientific method, then abandon it after setting foot into an OMT class.

I certainly see your point and have been frustrated by this quite a bit- However, I have come to realize that our professors probably wouldn't place so much emphasis on teaching us these techniques if they felt they didn't work. They want to give us this tool because they have seen it help many people, despite not having adequate theories and scientific evidence to back it up. In my professors' experience, cranial has helped babies with colic, children with recurrent middle ear infections, individuals with migraine and headache, and one of my professors uses it to prescribe glasses (I posted the link where I explain this above). I have decided that I am not afraid to learn something that has worked for patients in the past, even if the theories may be faulty and the scientific evidence lacking. The more tools in my tool box, the better.

There is a definite value of antecdotal evidence in clinical medicine, but because it bypasses the scientific method, many don't find it to be an adequate basis to use in order to treat patients. But I think after all of the anecdotal evidence I have heard and seen, I would be doing myself and my patients a disservice if I didn't treat with cranial. I will give my patients a disclaimer about most of the evidence being anecdotal, and I will give them the option of not getting that modality of treatment if they wish. But who knows- by the time I am an attending, there may be more cranial research published or in the works 🙂

 

[taylormade2006]

I certainly see your point and have been frustrated by this quite a bit- However, I have come to realize that our professors probably wouldn't place so much emphasis on teaching us these techniques if they felt they didn't work. They want to give us this tool because they have seen it help many people, despite not having adequate theories and scientific evidence to back it up. In my professors' experience, cranial has helped babies with colic, children with recurrent middle ear infections, individuals with migraine and headache, and one of my professors uses it to prescribe glasses (I posted the link where I explain this above). I have decided that I am not afraid to learn something that has worked for patients in the past, even if the theories may be faulty and the scientific evidence lacking. The more tools in my tool box, the better.

There is a definite value of antecdotal evidence in clinical medicine, but because it bypasses the scientific method, many don't find it to be an adequate basis to use in order to treat patients. But I think after all of the anecdotal evidence I have heard and seen, I would be doing myself and my patients a disservice if I didn't treat with cranial. I will give my patients a disclaimer about most of the evidence being anecdotal, and I will give them the option of not getting that modality of treatment if they wish. But who knows- by the time I am an attending, there may be more cranial research published or in the works 🙂

Would you still bill for it, HealingDoc?

 

[JaggerPlate]

Would you still bill for it, HealingDoc?

No doubt - it's his time. Furthermore, since he's (or she - I apologize, I'm unsure as to which) actually planning on explaining and being very clear with patients, I don't really see it as unethical to explain that the treatment is anecdotal, perform it (knowing that it's safe regardless), and bill for your highly valuable time.

Granted, it's not as ideal of a situation as say, treating with something that's been objectively, scientifically proven to work, but I personally feel like the patient explanation and knowledge that it's not going to harm the patient is sufficient enough to warrant an attempt and payment for service.

 

[vanbamm]

I'm not osteopathic (chiropractic) but we did cranial, and if you could put it together, the teaching doc ( a D.O.) would simply agree. I intitially felt like it was bc the technique itself was invalid, but perhaps the man had so much to do, teaching D.C.'s cranial wasn't on his list of priorities haha....but really, if it exists, I feel as though you have to very skilled in order to be good at it.

 

[DrWBD]

Here's a neat trick I tried out during med school that produced interesting results.

During an OMT practical or demonstration, go through the motions of "diagnosing" a dysfunction. Then, make something up. Anything. Make up every bit of it. Then, go to the faculty member who is supposed to check your accuracy and present your completely fabricated findings. They will exam the patient, and lo and behold will agree with your imaginary diagnosis.

I tried this repeatedly with the same results. Give it a try for yourself.

This is what happened during my cranial practical exams. We pretended we could feel the CRI. I recall all of us getting a nearly perfect score on that test.