County Osteopaths : Osteopathy for Children

Irritability, mood swings, head-banging, violent outbursts, excessive tantrums or tearfulness may be natural expressions of a child’s personality or signs of mental stress.

However, niggling aches and pains or the inability to relax may make a child grumpy too. If this is the case treating the physical tension with Cranial Osteopathy may reduce the grumpiness.

Children often complain of aches and pains. As a parent should you take it seriously or ignore it? At the first Osteopathic consultation we take a detailed case history to investigate any causes for discomfort then make a thorough assessment to look for any abnormal muscle tension or disturbance to the Cranial Rhythm. If we find something that could benefit from treatment we can go ahead but if there is nothing wrong we will tell you and no treatment will be given.

Cranial Osteopathy is a gentle form of Osteopathic treatment ideal for the treatment of children.

Treatment is soothing and enjoyable and can help:

- alleviate aches and pains of all sorts

- release tension and aid relaxation

- digestion problems

- sports injuries

- improve local circulation to aid resistant to infection or assist recovery from accidents or surgery.

Osteopaths can treat babies and children for tension acquired during their gestation or the birth process.

Osteopathy is a safe and natural approach to health care for all life stages from premature infants to teenagers.

Cranial Osteopathy may be used to treat aches and pains around the jaws and face, for instance that which occurs during orthodontic treatment or where an imbalance of muscle tension may lead to pain or clicking in the jaws.

Disclaimer | © County Osteopaths

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.

The osteopath will ask in detail about various aspects of your child's symptoms and general health. A structural examination may be undertaken, depending on the child’s age, requiring them to undress to their underwear for a few minutes whilst the osteopath checks their posture or assesses body movements. It may be necessary to carry out simple tests such as testing reflexes. Most patients come to an osteopath without having first consulted their doctor. Osteopaths are trained to ensure that no serious problems are overlooked. A parent or carer must stay with the child throughout the session if the child is under 16.

The cranial osteopathic approach is gentle and should not cause undue discomfort. The approach involves a gentle hold of one of many boney areas where the cranial rhythm can most easily be felt. This allows the osteopath to diagnose any disturbances in the cranial rhythm and treat it with very gentle pressure. Most children find this treatment relaxing.

Older children may respond well to standard osteopathic techniques such as deep massage, joint releases and stretching and so we may vary our approach according to the individual.

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.

No, don't worry that you may have missed the boat.Osteopaths can treat children of all ages from birth through to adulthood.

Even if they have a problem that you suspect dates back to gestation or birth osteopathy may still help later on.