County Osteopaths : Cranial Osteopathy

Cranial Osteopathy is a refined and subtle type of osteopathic treatment that aims to restore normal flexibility and relax deep tension throughout the whole body, including the head.

It is a gentle yet extremely effective approach and may be used to treat a wide range of conditions affecting people of all ages, from birth to old age.

When we experience physical (or even mental) stresses and strains our body tissues may tighten up and, even after the stresses have passed, a lasting tension may remain. This tension may restrict your body’s free movement perhaps gradually leading to pain and discomfort that seems to have occured for no reason.

Osteopathic treatment may help with pain and tension even if it has been there a long time.What’s more, most people find treatment a pleasant experience, coming away feeling more comfortable and relaxed.

In the UK all qualified osteopaths have DO (Diploma in Osteopathy – the four-year course completed before 1992), or BSc (Ost) (Degree in Osteopathy – the four-year course completed during or after 1992) or similar, after their names. Osteopaths will have had a minimum of four years full time or six years mixed-attendance-mode training. In May 2000 the Osteopaths Act came into effect to maintain standards within the profession. Since that date no-one has been allowed to practice as an osteopath unless they are registered with the General Osteopathic Council (GOsC). You can only register if you have either completed a recognized training course after 2000 or trained before 2000 and undergone testing to

show competence. Osteopathy was the first profession of “complementary” therapists to achieve statutory regulation.

Cranial Osteopathy is taught alongside all other types of osteopathy at undergraduate level with further skills developed by experience and through post-graduate courses.

Please see the section entitled About Us to see how each of us has trained.

Cranial Osteopathic techniques work with a very subtle, rhythmical shape change that is present in all body tissues. One name for this is the Cranial Rhythm. The movement is of very small amplitude; therefore it takes practitioners with a very finely developed sense of touch to feel it. First described in the early 1900s by Dr William G Sutherland with its existence being confirmed in a series of laboratory tests in the 1960s and '70s, this rhythm is now being investigated using Laser Doppler scanning.

It seems that tension in the body disrupts the cranial rhythm. Practitioners compare what your rhythm is doing to what is considered ideal. This shows what stresses and strains your body is under, what tensions it may be carrying and the general health of your body. Cranial techniques are a very careful and minute mobilisation that work in step with the cranial rhythm to free tension throughout your body.

For babies it can be used to release tension caused by the compressing effect of birth or of the last few weeks of gestation.

Osteopaths think that the aches and pains that this tension in their body’s may cause is the underlying reason why some babies cry a lot or seem restless or wakeful.

For older children it can help with an inability to relax that may lie behind sleep difficulties. It may improve the circulation around the lymphatic system so that resilience to infection is optimised. Osteopathy may also ease aches and pains around the body and help with sports injuries.

For adults it can help with aches and pain such as those in the spine and other joints. It may ease muscle tension, sciatica, sports injuries, shoulder problems, certain headaches / migraine and neuralgia. It may also help you to relax.

Osteopaths may have different specialties, including sports injuries, paediatrics, and visceral osteopathy (treating the internal organs of the body). Cranial osteopathy embraces all of these areas.

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At the initial consultation a case-history is taken, structural examinations and simple tests are carried out as necessary and the first treatment is given.

During the consultation adults and older children will be asked to undress down to their underwear whilst the osteopath checks posture, assesses body movements and gives the treatment.

At the end of the consultation advice and / or exercises are explained and we will discuss with you what to expect for the next few days and when (or whether) you should come back.

At follow-up sessions there is a review of symptoms followed by treatment, advice and review of exercises, where necessary.

For babies and children under 16 years of age the process is almost the same except that a parent (or someone acting in loco parentis) must remain in the treatment room throughout the consultation. Advice and explanations are given to the parent up to the age where the child is old enough to understand their own health.

Be assured that, because most people come to see an Osteopath without first having consulted their doctor, Osteopaths are extensively trained in spotting potentially serious symptoms so that no hidden problem escapes attention.

Many people who see an Osteopath do so because of back or neck pain.

NICE (the National Institute for Clinical Excellence) guidelines recommend manual therapies such as osteopathy for the treatment of low back pain.

see our FAQs section.