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Correlation Between Cranial Suture Fusion and Somatic Dysfunction

Journal: The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association Date: 2009/01, 109(1):Pages: 40-41. doi: Subito , type of study: observational study

Full text    (https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.7556/jaoa.2009.109.1.40/html)

Keywords:

cranial suture [10]
cranium [81]
observational study [218]
somatic dysfunction [159]

Abstract:

Osteopathic physicians have an appreciation for the systemic effect of severe somatic dysfunction in patients. However, the exact effect of the dysfunction on the body is not completely known. It is our hypothesis that cranial suture fusion and obliteration (long assumed by anthropologists to be a linear, predictable degenerative consequence of aging) is potentially best explained as a consequence of reduced mobility cased by somatic dysfunction. The hypothesis was investigated utilizing the Bass donated skeletal collection housed at The University of Tennessee. The Bass collection contains over 500 individuals from a modern population of known age, sex, and race. From the collection a random subset of adult individuals (N=250) was selected for analysis. Any individuals with a past medical history of severe head trauma were excluded. The analysis was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, each of the crania was scored for cranial suture closure following the methodology of Meindel and Lovejoy (1985). 27 cranial landmarks (16 ectocranial, 7 endocranial, 4 palate) were scored on a scale of 0-3, with 0 representing an open suture, 1 being less that 50% ossification, 2 being 50–99% ossification, and 3 representing complete obliteration. The values were then summed to a degree of overall suture fusion. The second phase included an analysis of each skeleton by an osteopathic physician and medical student. Any somatic dysfunction was recorded, including uni-lateral sacroiliac fusion, bi-lateral sacroiliac fusion, vertebral fusion, or ankylosing spondylitis. The strain pattern in the cranium was also noted when present. A statistical regression analysis was conducted to determine if the degree of cranial suture closure of a given individual as related to either age at death, or presence of somatic dysfunction. A significant correlation was not found between suture obliteration and age of the individual (alpha=.05). However, there was a statistically significant correlation between somatic dysfunction and suture closure, with individuals with skeletal dysfunction showing a markedly increased rate of suture fusion and obliteration. The results from this study suggest that there may be a relationship between skeletal somatic dysfunction and cranial suture ossification. This may be indicative in a change in overall mobility resultant from a severe dysfunction, such a sacroiliac fusion, including decreased mobility of the cranial bones.


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