Taking a detail-oriented, yet holistic approach to the body is the underpinning of craniosacral osteopathy. This richly illustrated guide, which focuses on the jaw joint, TMJ and mouth disorders disorders, and the facial skull, will help you understand how specific dysfunctions arise, but also how they interrelate to wider patterns of dysfunction. Further chapters cover palpatory procedures, including examples of best practice, and guidance in training your palpatory perception. With precise anatomical diagrams to illustrate each craniosacral technique, this resource provides a strong foundation for any successful cranial osteopathic practice.

Connective tissue release, or myofascial release, is a major component of manual therapies, including osteopathic medicine. Most methods involve placing the patient in a passive, relaxed position for diagnosis and treatment. However, many practitioners have intuitively sensed that rhythmic motion should be a component of therapy, and increasingly include it in their practice. Harmonic Healing introduces such an application of connective tissue principles, which author Dr. Zachary Comeaux calls Facilitated Oscillatory Release (FOR). The book reviews the role of oscillatory or vibratory work as an extension of other connective tissue techniques, explains the relevant physiology and the principles of wave propagation in tissue, and then provides illustrated introductory exercises, applications, and case studies. Building on the work of his mentor, Robert Fulford, to get more deeply into the core of patients’ injuries, Dr. Comeaux presents FOR as a lens through which to reinterpret the strategic use of force in manual therapy, including osteopathic manipulation. Based on both his clinical experience and neurophysiology principles, the author develops practical applications of these principles. These methods are compatible with generally accepted manual methods, and Harmonic Healing shows students, advanced practitioners, bodyworkers, and osteopaths how to integrate FOR into a variety of manual healing approaches.