William Garner Sutherland, D.O. (1873–1954) was an American osteopathic physician and important figure in American osteopathic medicine. Several of his

manual therapy Manual therapy, or manipulative therapy, is a physical treatment primarily used by physical therapists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists to treat musculoskeletal pain and disability; it mostly includes kneading and manipulation of mus ...

techniques are still practiced today by practitioners of osteopathy, although craniosacral therapy is regarded as pseudoscience by the medical community. Sutherland was the first osteopathic physician to conceptualize the cranial approach and teach it systematically. However, Sutherland acknowledged

Andrew Taylor Still Andrew Taylor Still, DO (August 6, 1828 – December 12, 1917) was the founder of osteopathic medicine. He was also a physician and surgeon, author, inventor and Kansas territorial and state legislator. He was one of the founders of Baker Univers ...

as the developer of all osteopathy, including the cranial approach. Sutherland was the first person to claim to feel a rhythmic shape change in the bones of the cranium. He later applied this movement to all body tissues and this movement is the agent of change in dysfunctional tissues. He later named this motion the body's "Primary Respiration."

Education

William Sutherland graduated in 1900 from the American School of Osteopathy, which is now

A.T. Still University A.T. Still University (ATSU) is a private medical school based in Kirksville, Missouri, with a second campus in Arizona and third campus in Santa Maria, California. It was founded in 1892 by Andrew Taylor Still and was the world's first osteopa ...

Contributions to osteopathy

A list of techniques and concepts which Sutherland had significant impact on: * Cranial osteopathy is the source of

craniosacral therapy Craniosacral therapy (CST) or cranial osteopathy is a form of alternative therapy that uses gentle touch to palpate the synarthrodial joints of the cranium. CST is a pseudoscience and its practice has been characterized as quackery. It is base ...

(cranial techniques practiced by non osteopaths) * Balanced ligamentous tension * Primary respiratory mechanism In the United States, Sutherland's approach today is being taught to physicians and dentists by th
Osteopathic Cranial Academy
th
Sutherland Cranial Teaching Foundation
and th
Osteopathic Center for Children and Families
From there, his teachings have since spread worldwide, including Australia and New Zealand by th
SCTF of ANZ
as well as in the UK and Central and Eastern Europe and Japan. His writings include ''The Cranial Bowl'', ''Contributions of Thought'', ''Teachings in the Science of Osteopathy''. His wife, Adah, wrote his biography, ''With Thinking Fingers'', which details his exploration of the cranial concept. "Osteopathy in the Cranial Field," written by one of his students, Harold Magoun, DO, is the main textbook of his work. It has been speculated that Sutherland borrowed ideas directly from the 1882 English translation of

Swedenborg Emanuel Swedenborg (, ; born Emanuel Swedberg; 29 March 1772) was a Swedish pluralistic-Christian theologian, scientist, philosopher and mystic. He became best known for his book on the afterlife, ''Heaven and Hell'' (1758). Swedenborg had a ...

's writings on brain physiology.Jordan, Theodor
Swedenborg's influence on Sutherland's 'Primary Respiratory Mechanism' model in cranial osteopathy
''The International Journal of Osteopathic Medicine'', Volume 12, Issue 3, Pages 100-105 (September 2009)

References

American osteopathic physicians 1873 births 1954 deaths {{US-physician-stub