CRAFTA CF2 Craniofacial Pain Syndromes

The CRAFTA® Clinical Series: Temporomandibular & Orofacial Dysfunction and Pain

The redesigned CRAFTA® Level 1 Clinical Series provides practical, evidence-based tools you can apply immediately in your clinic. Whether your goal is to expand your expertise in TMD management, enhance outcomes for complex facial pain, or strengthen your collaboration with dental and medical colleagues, this interdisciplinary series is built for you.

The series features three flexible hybrid courses that can be taken in any order:

• CRAFTA CF1: Orofacial and Temporomandibular Management
• CRAFTA CF2: Craniofacial Pain Syndromes
• CRAFTA CF3: Cranial Neuropathies Management

Course Focus: CRAFTA CF2 Craniofacial Pain Syndromes

An Integrated Approach to Tinnitus, Sinus-Like Symptoms, and Concussion

Are you ready to move beyond symptom-based treatment? The CF2 course is designed specifically for clinicians who want to strengthen their clinical reasoning and effectively manage complex head, face, jaw, and neck pain. By bridging developmental biology with contemporary pain science, you will gain a clear, actionable framework to tackle some of the most challenging presentations seen in practice.

Part 1: Build Your Foundation (Self-Paced Online)
Four weeks before the live course, you unlock the online learning module. Through comprehensive video presentations, you will master the essential theoretical concepts—including how the evolutionary development of the skull directly influences adult biomechanics and pain presentations—so you are fully prepared for the live training.

Part 2: Master the Techniques (Live 2-Day Hands-On)
The intensive in-person sessions skip the lectures and dive straight into detailed palpation, movement analysis, and treatment strategies. You will link theory directly to practice, using real clinical case discussions to master the multidisciplinary management of the craniofacial system.

Key Skills You Will Bring Back to Your Clinic:

• Advanced differentiation between musculoskeletal, neurogenic, and mixed pain mechanisms
• Precise palpation and manual assessment of the maxillofacial region
• Specialized management strategies for tinnitus, (pseudo) sinusitis, and post-concussion symptoms
• Enhanced clinical reasoning for cervicogenic headaches and TMJ dysfunctions

Overview

The entire CRAFTA course structure is summarized in this blog.

There are no prerequisites for this course.

1. Frost, H. M. (1998). From Wolff's law to the mechanostat: a new “face” of physiology. Journal of Orthopaedic Science, 3(5), 282-286

2. Schueler, M., Messlinger, K., Dux, M., Neuhuber, W. L., & De Col, R. (2013). Extracranial projections of meningeal afferents and their impact on meningeal nociception and headache. PAIN, 154(9), 1622-1631

3. Schueler, M., Neuhuber, W. L., De Col, R., & Messlinger, K. (2014). Innervation of rat and human dura mater and pericranial tissues in the parieto‐temporal region by meningeal afferents. Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain, 54(6), 996-1009

4. Hanskamp, M., Armijo-Olivo, S., & von Piekartz, H. (2019). Is there a difference in response to manual cranial bone tissue assessment techniques between participants with cervical and/or temporomandibular complaints versus a control group?. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, 23(2), 334-343

Online

Videos

1. Introduction to the Craniofacial Region and its Functional Relations | 90 minutes

2. Functional Anatomy | 45 minutes

3. Facial Skeleton, Viscerocranium - General Growth and Qualities | 75 minutes

4. Manual Treatment of Signs and Symptoms of the Cranium | 45 minutes

Total time of videos: 4 hours and 15 minutes

Required Reading

1. Frost, H. M. (1998). From Wolff's law to the mechanostat: a new “face” of physiology. Journal of Orthopaedic Science, 3(5), 282-286 | 60 minutes

2. Schueler, M., Messlinger, K., Dux, M., Neuhuber, W. L., & De Col, R. (2013). Extracranial projections of meningeal afferents and their impact on meningeal nociception and headache. PAIN, 154(9), 1622-1631 | 75 minutes

3. Schueler, M., Neuhuber, W. L., De Col, R., & Messlinger, K. (2014). Innervation of rat and human dura mater and pericranial tissues in the parieto‐temporal region by meningeal afferents. Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain, 54(6), 996-1009 | 75 minutes

4. Hanskamp, M., Armijo-Olivo, S., & von Piekartz, H. (2019). Is there a difference in response to manual cranial bone tissue assessment techniques between participants with cervical and/or temporomandibular complaints versus a control group?. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, 23(2), 334-343 | 60 minutes

Total reading time: 4 hours and 30 minutes

Total time of the online course component: 8 hours and 45 minutes

Live Course

Actual times may vary with each program at the discretion of the instructors.

Day 1

07:30 - 08:00 Registration

08:00 – 09:00 Introduction + Questions - Videos 1 & 2

09:00 - 10:30 Qualities of the cranium as a movement unit: Neurocranium passive movements (Part 1): Two standard techniques; quality of passive movements

10:30 – 10:45 Questions & Answers

10:45 - 12:30 Passive movements neurocranium (Part 2): Three standard techniques + variations

12:30 – 01:30 Lunch

01:30 – 03:00 Specific techniques neurocranium (Part 1): Sphenoid, temporal, and petrosal regions

03:00 – 03:15 Questions & Answers

03:15 – 04:00 Specific techniques neurocranium (Part 2): Parietal and frontal regions

04:00 – 04:15 Questions & Answers

04:15 – 05:45 Clinical reasoning & treatment principles: Management principles, precautions, and pathologies

05:45 - 06:00 Wrap-up and key take-home points

Day 2

08:00 – 09:00 Introduction + Questions - Videos 3 & 4

09:00 - 10:30 Examination & treatment (general techniques): Viscerocranium: orbit, zygoma, and maxilla

10:30 - 10:45 Questions & Answers

10:45 - 12:00 Specific techniques (viscerocranium/maxillofacial): Orbit, zygoma, and maxilla

12:00 - 01:00 Lunch

01:00 - 03:45 Applications: syndromes & clinical patterns: Sinusitis/pseudo-sinusitis, tinnitus and non-specific otalgia, and concussion

03:45 - 04:00 Questions + Closing: Summary, final questions, and course evaluation

Physical therapists, occupational therapists, chiropractors, dentists, and speech-language pathologists interested in orofacial pain and function.

Pending

Bundle Discount

Save 15% when you register for all three modules of the CRAFTA® Clinical Series in Temporomandibular & Orofacial Dysfunction and Pain at the same time

Group Discount

15% off for groups of three or more students registering for the same course.

Special Discounts

10% off for new graduates, active military/veterans, residents, and full-time university faculty.

At the completion of the CRAFTA CF2 course, students will be able to

• Demonstrate advanced knowledge of craniofacial tissue assessment models and integrate these models into clinical reasoning.
• Apply safe and precise palpation and manual assessment skills for relevant neurocranial structures (e.g., occipital, sphenoid, temporal/petrous, parietal, and frontal regions).
• Explain key concepts of cranial development (ontogenesis) and its relevance for maxillofacial function, dysfunction, and pain presentations.
• Perform examination and treatment principles using specific neurocranial techniques and reflect on precautions, prognosis, and management objectives.
• Demonstrate practical assessment and manual techniques for viscerocranial regions (orbit, zygomatic, and maxilla), including general and specific approaches.
• Recognize and clinically reason through additional specific syndromes, including somatosensory tinnitus, (pseudo-)sinusitis, and concussion, and integrate these into hypothesis categories.
• Plan and justify treatment and long-term management strategies (minimum of four) for maxillofacial dysfunction and pain, including patient education and self-management.
• Use structured subjective examination and hypothesis generation to prioritise physical tests and select appropriate manual techniques.
• Critically reflect on evidence models, treatment principles, and safety considerations to support ethical and effective clinical decision-making.