Research
PubMed Systematic Review and Meta-analysis on Craniosacral Therapy (2024)
Systematic review cited in the research cycle as finding no statistically significant or clinically relevant benefit across the assessed conditions.
← Home
Resources
Organisations, research, books, and reference materials — curated to help you go beyond this guide and verify claims for yourself.
Showing 24 of 129 resources
Visit →
Research
WebMD Craniosacral Therapy Reviews
Anecdotal patient review page cited in the research artifact; useful for qualitative patient-experience signals rather than clinical evidence.
Research
Is Craniosacral Therapy Effective? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
2024 systematic review/meta-analysis of CST across conditions. PubMed abstract says 15 RCTs were included qualitatively and 7 quantitatively, and concludes CST produced no statistically significant or clinically relevant changes for the musculoskeletal and non-musculoskeletal conditions assessed.
Research
Craniosacral therapy for chronic pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
2019 systematic review/meta-analysis focused on chronic pain. PubMed abstract reports 10 RCTs/681 patients and describes significant improvements in pain and disability, while also calling for more rigorous CONSORT-following trials.
Research
Effectiveness of osteopathic craniosacral techniques: a meta-analysis
2024 meta-analysis of randomized trials in adults and children. PubMed abstract says 24 RCTs/1,613 participants were included and reports no significant effects for primary-outcome subgroup analyses, with apparent subgroup signals tempered by wide prediction intervals, high bias, and statistical limitations.
Research
A systematic review to evaluate the clinical benefits of craniosacral therapy
2012 systematic review finding a sparse evidence base. PubMed abstract says only seven studies met inclusion criteria and concludes that because of limited and moderately rated evidence, further research was needed.
Research
Assessing the efficacy and safety of Craniosacral therapy for migraine: A single center randomized controlled trial
PubMed-indexed 2023 randomized cross-over placebo-controlled trial in migraine. The abstract reports improvements after CST in headache frequency, HIT-6, HDI, and HAMA, and concludes standardized CST was effective and safe, while also stating that further larger research is needed.
Research
Effect of a Craniosacral Therapy Protocol in People with Migraine: A Randomized Controlled Trial
PubMed-indexed 2022 randomized controlled trial comparing a craniosacral therapy protocol with sham treatment in 50 migraine patients. The abstract reports significant reductions in pain, episode frequency, disability, and medication intake after intervention and at follow-up.
Research
Effectiveness of craniosacral therapy in the treatment of infantile colic
PubMed-indexed 2019 randomized controlled trial in 58 infants with colic. The abstract reports statistically significant differences in crying hours, sleep hours, and colic severity favoring CST over no treatment.
Research
Benefits of Craniosacral Therapy in Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial
PubMed-indexed randomized trial in 64 patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain. The abstract reports no statistically significant between-group difference for the primary disability outcome (RMQ), but greater improvement in pain intensity and some physiological measures versus classic massage.
Research
Cranial osteopathy for children with cerebral palsy: a randomised controlled trial
PubMed-indexed pragmatic randomized controlled trial in 142 children with cerebral palsy. The abstract concludes there was no statistically significant evidence of sustained improvement in motor function, pain, sleep, or quality of life.
Research
Craniosacral Therapy for the Treatment of Chronic Neck Pain: A Randomized Sham-Controlled Trial
PubMed-indexed randomized sham-controlled trial in 54 patients with chronic nonspecific neck pain. The abstract reports clinically relevant reductions in pain intensity versus sham at week 8 and week 20, plus improvements in some secondary outcomes, with no serious adverse events reported.
Research
A randomized controlled trial investigating the effects of craniosacral therapy on pain and heart rate variability in fibromyalgia
PubMed-indexed randomized controlled trial in 92 patients with fibromyalgia. The abstract reports significant reductions in pain at 13 of 18 tender points after 20 weeks and concludes craniosacral therapy improved medium-term pain symptoms.
Research
Effects of craniosacral therapy as adjunct to standard treatment for pelvic girdle pain in pregnant women
PubMed-indexed randomized multicenter single-blind trial in 123 pregnant women with pelvic girdle pain. The abstract reports some between-group differences favoring the intervention group, but also says treatment effects were small and clinically questionable and that further studies are warranted before recommending CST.
Research
Feasibility and Efficacy of Craniosacral Therapy on Sleep Quality in Fibromyalgia Syndrome
PubMed-indexed 2023 pre/post pilot trial in fibromyalgia. The abstract reports improved sleep quality after 12 weeks of weekly CST, but explicitly notes that larger studies with appropriate control groups are required.
Research
Effectiveness of craniosacral therapy, Bowen therapy, static touch and standard exercise program on sleep quality in fibromyalgia syndrome: a randomized controlled trial
PubMed-indexed placebo-controlled randomized trial in 132 fibromyalgia participants with poor sleep. The abstract reports significantly improved sleep quality in the CST group compared with static touch at 12 weeks, maintained at 24 weeks, but no between-group differences for other secondary outcomes.
Research
Craniosacral Therapy for Chronic Pain: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
2019 PubMed-indexed meta-analysis of 10 RCTs that reported modest post-intervention improvements in pain intensity and disability versus several comparators, while calling for more rigorous RCTs.
Research
Effect of a Craniosacral Therapy Protocol in People with Migraine
2022 PubMed-indexed randomized study of 50 migraine patients reporting significant reductions in pain, frequency of episodes, functional and overall disability, and medication intake after a four-week craniosacral protocol versus sham.
Research
Assessing the Efficacy and Safety of Craniosacral Therapy for Migraine
2023 PubMed-indexed randomized crossover placebo-controlled migraine study in which headache frequency and HIT-6 declined after CST phases, while authors called for larger research.
Research
Benefits of Craniosacral Therapy in Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain
2016 PubMed-indexed randomized trial of 64 chronic low back pain patients in which the primary disability outcome was not significantly different between groups, but pain intensity improved more with CST than with classic massage.
Research
Clinical Effectiveness of Craniosacral Therapy in Patients with Headache Disorders: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
2023 headache-focused systematic review/meta-analysis including four studies that found a statistically significant but clinically unimportant change in pain intensity, no significant effect on disability or headache effect, and very low certainty of evidence.
Research
Effectiveness of osteopathic craniosacral techniques: a meta-analysis and systematic review
2024 systematic review/meta-analysis of 24 RCTs and 1,613 participants that found no significant effects for primary outcome subgroups and concluded CST indicated a lack of usefulness in patient care for the studied indications.
Research
McGill OSS: Even the Best Scientific Studies Can Lie
Critical analysis of the 2020 meta-analysis on CST for pain, demonstrating garbage-in-garbage-out problems in research synthesis.
Research
Guillaud et al. Inter-rater Reliability Review (referenced in Ceballos-Laita 2024)
Review of nine studies testing intra- and inter-rater reliability of craniosacral assessment. All had high risk of bias and failed to demonstrate that palpation of the primary respiratory mechanism is a valid diagnostic method. Cited in 2024 meta-analysis.