Content area

Full text

Anna Żurowska [1] and Roksana Malak [2] and Anna Kołcz-Trzęsicka [1] and Włodzimierz Samborski [2] and Małgorzata Paprocka-Borowicz [1]

Academic Editor: Oliver Micke

1, Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Wrocław Medical University, 2 Grunwaldzka Street, 50-355 Wrocław, Poland, umed.wroc.pl

2, Department of Rheumatology and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Health Sciences, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 135/147 28 Czerwca 1956 Street, 61-545 Poznań, Poland, ump.edu.pl

Received Jun 8, 2017; Revised Aug 29, 2017; Accepted Sep 18, 2017

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

1. Introduction

Compression of the fourth ventricle (CV4) is a well-known osteopathic procedure, which was first described by Sutherland, DO, in 1939 [1]. Nowadays, it is practiced by osteopaths, craniosacral therapists, physical therapists, and manual therapists [2–5]. CV4 is described as a cranial manipulation technique aimed at influencing the function of the nervous system, including the autonomic nervous system [6, 7]. Increased electroencephalography alpha absolute power, reduced sleep latency, and even decreased anxiety were shown in many studies as the effect of the technique [2]. Also, an effective and progressive cerebral hemodynamic response was shown [8]. The procedure of CV4 appears to be simple; the patient lays down, and the therapist holds a squamous part of the occipital bone with its lateral angles and manipulates the cranium into an extension. The therapist holds the extension of the cranium and waits for a motionless state. After the appearance of the cranial pulse, the therapist may end the procedure [6].

There are a number of researches which show the effectiveness of this technique. Referring to the benefits of CV4, cranial manipulation may modify the heart rate, blood flow velocity, blood pressure, and cerebral tissue oxygenation and reduce symptoms of otitis media and colic [4, 7]. It should be mentioned that CV4 may also influence the condition of children with cerebral palsy [9]. Patients with other neurologic disorders, such as adults with multiple sclerosis, have better function of the lower urinary tract after CV4 procedure, which was a component of the craniosacral therapy (CST) protocol [10]. One study also reported efficacy in the treatment of tension-type headache [11].

The main objective...
 

Show less