Total balance

Osteopathy is a calm and gentle approach to treating children, infants and newborns. Our gentle techniques are slow and soothing allowing for normalization of homeostasis within the body’s systems to occur.

As osteopaths, our treatment revolves around the principle that your child is a whole person and will be cared for with a holistic approach encompassing the entire body. All osteopathic treatments involve gentle manual techniques that aim to balance the normal homeostasis between all of the systems of the body (ie muscles, joints, ligaments, connective tissues, lymphatic, nerves, circulatory etc). This holistic approach will also allow for positive changes to filter through influencing the body, emotions, mind and spirit of your child.

At the commencement of each treatment, we take a very detailed and comprehensive history of your child’s presenting complaint and previous health history. This is where you get to tell us everything about your child’s health, activities, routines or any concerns. We also examine your child using our finely tuned palpatory skills to determine the areas of discomfort and dysfunction. We have the ability to perform any necessary medical tests as indicated in your child’s history, such as examination of the ears, eyes, respiratory and nervous systems. The combination of these skills determines if osteopathic treatment is appropriate for your child or if a referral for further medical attention is required.

Osteopathy is suitable for many childhood conditions and complaints such as:

• Crying
• Colic
• Bed wetting
• Problems breastfeeding
• Disturbed sleep
• Constipation/ diarrhea
• Musculoskeletal complaints (ie muscle stains or joint sprains)
• Head aches

WHY OSTEOPATHY WORKS…

Our holistic approach to the body demonstrates how we recognize that every structure in the body is designed to move. These movements encompass crawling, walking and running but also internal movements such as the circulation of your child’s blood, the movement of air during breathing and the movement of food through your digestive system.

We also understand that your child’s musculoskeletal system is constantly adjusting during activity and growth in order to maintain a sense of balance in the body.

As our approach gives us the ability to view the whole body as a unit, we understand and will explain how all regions of the body are connected and although your child may be experiencing pain in a certain region, the cause of that pain may be stemming from another related region. Ie

• Headaches maybe caused by spinal trauma/ dysfunction
• Low back problems may be stemming from hip, knee or foot injuries/ dysfunctions
• Disturbances of your child’s head or body structure may be the result of a difficult labour and may lead to breathing and gastric difficulties.

WHAT WILL THE OSTEOPATH DO?

On your first visit with your child, the Osteopath will discuss and record the child’s medical history in detail. We discuss many details such as the health of you and your child during pregnancy, details of delivery, appearance and actions and medical history of your child. The Osteopath may also discuss the parent’s relationship, the mother’s diet (if she is breastfeeding) or the feeding formula. During the treatment, your child will lie on the treatment table or in the Osteopath’s or parent’s lap. It is always a good idea to keep Mum close to guard against unexpected movements and also reassuring the child. A full examination of your child’s musculoskeletal system will be conducted and we then monitor the craniosacral rhythm with my hands. Other gentle assessments and techniques will also be used to correct the sources of pain and dysfunction. These gentle techniques include craniosacral, articulation, muscle energy techniques, myofascial release and visceral. Sometimes children release emotions or cry during treatments, but the techniques don’t hurt them, as the work that is done is very gentle.

Some Osteopaths begin their craniosacral treatment at the sacrum, others begin at the cranium. When treating the sacrum, (as one can imagine) the sacrum is small and can be contacted with a couple of fingers. The Osteopath decides whether the sacrum is positioned in exaggerated flexion or extension, whether it is twisted and whether it is registering the fluctuation of the fluid within the spinal canal.
Often, after treatment, your child is very relaxed and sleeps well (ie sleeps for a longer stretch than usual), although other children have a burst of energy and then have a good night’s sleep. Occasionally children feel unsettled, but this is temporary and is what happens when mechanical changes are occurring, only lasting for a day or two.

What is Craniosacral technique?

Craniosacral osteopathy is a gentle, safe, non-invasive, yet effective type of treatment that is helpful for not only adults, but also children and infants. It encourages the relief of stresses and tensions throughout the body, including the head, by its intrinsic ability of the body to heal itself and self-regulate.

The craniosacral system consists of membranes and fluid that surround the brain and spinal cord. It extends from the cranium to the sacrum. The fluid within the membranes is continually draining and refilling. The filling and draining creates gentle, rhythmic, expanding and contracting movements that can be felt anywhere in the body. Cranial osteopaths are trained to feel a very subtle, rhythmical shape change that is present in all body tissues, called the “cranial rhythm movement.”

Children respond to Osteopathic care promptly, however it may take few visits to sort out the patient’s problems, particularly those involving the cranium. You will also be informed that depending on the problem, it may take many Osteopathic treatments, therefore prognosis can be difficult.