Cranial Workshop with Dr. Blood!
by Samantha Falls
Chapter National Representative
This year marked the Tenth Anniversary of the Cranial Workshop here at the VCOM Virginia Campus! We have had the privilege of hosting Dr. Stephen Blood, D.O., FAAO, FACGP, FCA every year since 2006 to allow our students a full weekend of cranial knowledge in a way that only Dr. Blood can teach it. Since this was the tenth anniversary of the event, we wanted to try and make it the largest crowd yet. So, we extended the invitation to six schools in the region and had an overwhelming response with 70 workshop participants on day 1 and 64 on day 2! The schools in attendance were VCOM-Virginia Campus, VCOM-Carolinas Campus, LMU-DCOM, UP-KYCOM, LUCOM, and ATSU!
On the first day, Dr. Blood gave an introduction into Osteopathy in the Cranial Field, the anatomy of the cranial sacral mechanism, and how to palpate the Cranial Mechanisms. The second day was full of hands on practice. Dr. Blood gave a short review and then it was onto practicing palpation skills, venous sinus drainage techniques, and occipital CV4. The majority of the event was taught by Dr. Blood, but he was not alone in his presentations. There were also presentations by Dr. David Harden, D.O., FAAFP, and Elizabeth Young, PT, TA LMO, CZB. Dr. Harden presented on sphenobasilar synchondrosis mechanics specifically, also going over the anatomy, palpation skills, and diagnosis. He also led a session on the Cranial Rhythmic Impulse and how to assess its quality, rate, and amplitude. Elizabeth Young presented on the Mechanical Link, the interconnectedness of the body, and how treatment should always start at the most restricted area.
It was a great event filled with cranial knowledge, our sutures were realigned and our minds were opened but that wasn’t the only benefit to the weekend. We had the ability to connect with other students in a way that normally only happens at Convocation. Being able to talk about our school and the differences and similarities in what we have been taught and how it is managed was a great bonus to the weekend! We would like to truly thank all of the participants that came from other schools for making this weekend the biggest and best it has ever been and for being such willing participants in the exchange of knowledge that occurred. Hopefully, this event will start a trend for opening up events within our area more often! Shout out to LMU-DCOM for having the biggest out of state crew! ❉
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