William Garner Sutherland (1873 – 1954) was an American physician. He was an important figure in American osteopathic medicine. Several of his manual therapy

Manual therapy

Manual therapy, manipulative therapy, or manual & manipulative therapy is a physical treatment primarily used by physiotherapists, chiropractors, osteopaths to treat musculoskeletal pain and disability; it most commonly includes massage therapy, joint mobilization and joint...

 techniques are still practiced today by a small minority of practitioners of osteopathic medicine. Sutherland was the first osteopath to conceptualize the cranial approach and systematically teach it. He always acknowledges Andrew Taylor Still

Andrew Taylor Still

Andrew Taylor Still is considered the father of osteopathy and osteopathic medicine. He was also a physician & surgeon, author, inventor and Kansas territorial & state legislator. He was one of the founders of Baker University, the oldest 4-year college in the state of Kansas, and was the founder...

 as the discoverer of all osteopathy including the cranial approach. Cranial osteopathy

Osteopathy

Osteopathy and osteopathic medicine are often used interchangeably for the philosophy and system of alternative medical practice first proposed by A. T. Still MD, DO in 1874....

 is a misnomer; cranial means the head and it became known as this as the evolution of the system started with diagnosis and treatment of the soft tissues and bones of the cranium. Sutherland was the first 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 force "Primary Respiration."

Cranial osteopathy is often approached with skepticism

Scientific skepticism

Scientific skepticism is the practice of questioning the veracity of claims lacking empirical evidence or reproducibility, as part of a methodological norm pursuing "the extension of certified knowledge". For example, Robert K...

 and is often declared as invalid by those in the osteopathic and chiropractic

Chiropractic

Chiropractic is a health care profession concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disorders of the neuromusculoskeletal system and the effects of these disorders on general health. It is generally categorized as complementary and alternative medicine...

 professions.

A list of techniques and concepts which Sutherland had significant impact on:

• Cranial osteopathy is the source of craniosacral therapy
  Craniosacral therapy
  Craniosacral therapy is an alternative medicine therapy used by osteopaths, massage therapists, naturopaths, and chiropractors. A craniosacral therapy session involves the therapist placing their hands on the patient, which allows them to "tune into the craniosacral rhythm"...
  
   (cranial techniques practiced by non osteopaths)
• Balanced ligamentous tension
  Balanced ligamentous tension
  Balanced ligamentous tension is both an indirect and direct technique used in osteopathic manipulative medicine.- History :...
  
  
• Primary respiratory mechanism

It has been speculated that Sutherland borrowed ideas directly from the 1882 English translation of Swedenborg's writings on brain physiology .