Simultaneous Palpation of the Craniosacral Rate at the Head and Feet: Rate Comparison, Intrarater and Interrater Reliability, and Assessment of LAG time

This is a AIR FORCE INST OF TECH WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB OH report procured by the Pentagon and made available for public release. It has been reproduced in the best form available to the Pentagon. It is not spiral-bound, but rather assembled with Velobinding in a soft, white linen cover. The Storming Media report number is A085423. The abstract provided by the Pentagon follows: Purpose. The purposes of this study were to test the assumption that craniosacral motion is constant throughout the human body, determine the interrater and intrarater reliability of palpating the craniosacral rate at the head and feet, and determine if a lag time was present between the start of craniosacral events at the head and feet. Subjects. Twenty-eight adult subjects and two craniosacral examiners. Method. With-in subjects repeated measures design. Examiners were blinded to each other. Results. Craniosacral rates simultaneously palpated at the head and feet were significantly different. Interrater ICC's were .08 and .19 at the head and feet respectively. Intrarater ICC's ranged from .18 to .30. Lag time trends indicated random phase relationships and faster head rates. Conclusion. Results did not support craniosacral motion theory.