Cranial Evaluation and Treatment Practice Test 2026 – Complete Exam Prep Guide

In cranial osteopathy, a torsional injury twists the skull about a single anterior-posterior axis, with the sphenoid and occiput rotating in opposite directions while the midline remains relatively level. The direction of the torsion is named for the direction the sphenoid rotates relative to the occiput.

If the trauma described in #1 produces rotation of the sphenoid to the right while the occiput rotates to the left (i.e., the right side becomes the rotating side), this pattern is a right torsion. That’s why the induced trauma would be labeled as right torsion—the two cranial bones rotate in opposite directions about the AP axis, with the rightward rotation defining the pattern.

For contrast, a left torsion would be the mirror image, while other patterns like a left lateral strain or a superior vertical strain involve different directions of rotation or vertical compression, not a simple AP-axis torsion.