Cranial Osteopathy
Cranial osteopathy
Cranial osteopathy is a gentle non-invasive technique aimed at areas of stress and tension around the head. For this reason it is typically associated as a treatment of choice for babies and infants but it is widely used on adults as well.
Cranial osteopathy for babies
Babies undergo tremendous forces during childbirth as they twist and turn in order to squeeze through the birth canal and pelvis. This is of course perfectly normal as the baby’s head is designed to accommodate these strains.
After giving birth sucking, crying, yawning and general movement helps any accumulated tension around the body and head release. However, sometimes, especially with a traumatic childbirth or if the baby’s been lying in an abnormal position during pregnancy, not all of these tensions go away.
Gentle relaxing osteopathic techniques can be performed all over the body including the head (cranial osteopathy) on these areas of tension.
Cranial osteopathy for adults
When you think of your head commonly people think of a skull, a piece of solid bone. The head is full of different types of soft connective tissue that can get tight and painful which is where, for example, they inject botox or where you rub around your temples when you get a headache. Osteopaths use their detailed knowledge of the cranium (head) and skilled sense of touch to release areas of tension that get held tight be it through trauma, clenching or grinding teeth (bruxism), staring at screens, talking, chewing, etc.
Cranial osteopathy can be used by itself or in conjunction with other osteopathic techniques.
7 clues that your baby could have a feeding problem
The osteopathic centre for children identifies 7 clues that may suggest your child is not feeding correctly:
Does your baby prefer feeding from one breast or sleep/lie with the head always turned to one side?
Does your baby appear to have tension in one shoulder, making it more difficult to get that arm into clothes?
Do you/your baby have difficulty getting the head into the right position to get the nipple into the mouth?
Does your baby struggle to open the mouth wide enough for the breast?
Does your baby ‘stop-start’ feed, or appear to ‘choke’ on milk flow?
Does your baby break seal during feeding: is there ‘clicking’ during a feed, nose congestion/snoring or noisy breathing? Does your baby appear to be swallowing air as well as milk (hiccups or big burps after a feed)?
Are you uncomfortable during or after feeding, is it worse on one side?
Incorrect feeding patterns can be due to, amongst other things, strains and tension around the neck and jaw. This creates stress for both mother and baby. Using gentle techniques osteopaths can release areas of stress and tension with the aim of having a beneficial effect on feeding for both mother and baby.
Reference: https://www.fpo.org.uk/7-clues-baby-feeding-problem/
