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

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.Air Force Inst of Tech Wright-Patterson AFB OH is the author of 'Simultaneous Palpation of the Craniosacral Rate at the Head and Feet : Rate Comparison, Intrarater and Interrater Reliability, and Assessment of LAG Time', published 1997 under ISBN 9781423568582 and ISBN 1423568583.