Palpatory phenomena in the limbs: A proposed mechanism

Practitioners described as 'cranial' osteopaths and 'cranio-sacral' therapists routinely observe palpatory phenomena within the limbs of patients and use these findings to inform diagnosis and treatment. As current anatomical knowledge is unable to explain this, it is hypothesized that cyclic changes in vascular volume (Traube-Hering-Mayer waves) alter the tension in associated myofascia and create patterns of motion that are palpable. These patterns result from the helical alignment of collagen fibres and may be altered by pathologies, such as 'repetitive strain injury' (RSI) and 'tennis elbow', reverting to normal following successful treatment. Helixes spontaneously appear in self-organizing processes, and a comparison between different species suggests that the proposed pattern may be an intrinsic part of mammalian limb development and responsible for the observed palpatory findings. Confirmation of this mechanism requires more detailed examination of limb myofascia and could lead to wider acceptance of this particular mode of treatment.