Osteopathy in Children

At both our clinics we also deal extensively with the treatment of children. This page details the various conditions which we can help with as well as a section on symptoms. Does your child exhibit any of the symptoms described on this page? Or maybe you want to ask about something else your worried about? Give us a call on the numbers above or drop an email to info@glasgow-osteopaths.co.uk

Osteopathy can help an enormous variety of different symptoms and problems in babies, children and adults. Many people find it difficult to understand how osteopathy can have such a wide range. Part of the answer lies in the fact that osteopathy is a philosophy, or a way of thinking. Every part of the body is depend-ent on other parts working efficiently. To be in good health, it is important that all parts are working well.

In the body, a similar interdependence exists between different parts, and problems in one part of the body can affect other parts, some distance away. Osteopaths are continually searching to understand and treat the cause of a particular problem, rather than just treating the symptoms.

Many of the problems that osteopaths see in their patients both in adults & children, have their origin in unresolved birth stresses. For this reason, much of this leaflet is about the birth process, and the effects it can have on babies and children.

Pregnancy & the Developing Baby

When a child goes to an osteopath for treatment, he/she has their own unique story to tell of their short life. They will have been influenced by an enormous number of factors, beginning with the health of the parents before birth, and including a wide range of physical, chemical, nutritional and emotional influences during his 9 months (usually!) in the womb. The baby has gradually developed into the person he is today. Osteopaths recognise that certain things happen during the child’s life in the womb that can have an adverse effect on healthy growth and development. Some of the ongoing effects on the child of these early traumas can be reduced by appropriate osteopathic treatment, once the cause of their problem has been identified.The Health of the Parents

To give their baby the best possible start in life, both parents need to be in a state of good health before the child is conceived. Poor health in either parent can undermine the vitality of a developing baby, which may then make it more difficult for the child to cope with subsequent traumas such as birth or illness. Mothers who have conceived soon after coming off the pill are often low on certain vitamins, and this can have an effect on the underlying health of the developing baby.

Emotional Stress

Babies are very sensitive to emotional stress in the mother during pregnancy, particularly when it is affecting her own emotional security as a prospective mother. Stresses can take the form of anxiety about the baby, difficulties in her relationship with her partner, family bereavement or such things as a house move.
Common Symptoms

1) Crying, Irritable Baby

All babies cry to some extent, but some more than others. Babies who cry a lot, or have a particularly piercing cry, may be suffering from retained birth compression. The baby’s head may be uncomfortable, possibly with a headache.
Uncomfortable babies may not only cry a lot, be restless and fractious, they may also be jumpy especially with loud noises, take a long time to settle to sleep. They are typically more comfortable being carried than lying down, because the extra pressure of the mattress on their head aggravates the pressure already in their head. This will probably then wake them up. They are not simply being naughty and wanting lots of cuddles. However, the need to be cuddled to sleep will become habit-forming if it persists. Babies who have had a very rapid labour are often the most fractious, irritable babies. Babies who have been stuck in the birth canal or had the cord wrapped around their neck, are often very fearful babies, in constant need of reassurance. They prefer to be carried most of the time, and need to know that their mother is near.

2) Feeding

Parents may notice that the baby feeds more easily on the one side than the other. This may be a sign that he/she has some residual strain in the neck from labour and delivery. This can be caused as a result of retained birth compression. The nerve to the tongue that is involved in the action of suckling exits from the skull in an area behind the ear. This area takes the maximum compression during the passage down the birth canal.

Other factors that can make suckling difficult are:-

Moulding of the whole skull leaving residual stress through the face. Irritation in the throat caused by the umbilical cord being tightly wrapped around the neck. Stress and discomfort in the throat if it has been over-stretched by the head being tipped backwards during delivery, as in a face or brow presentation.

3) Sickness, Colic & Wind

From the first 2 or 3 weeks after birth, when feeding is getting well established, the baby may be taking large quantities of ‘richer’ milk. Any difficulty or inability of their digestive system to cope with this can certainly lead to colic. Inefficient suckling can lead to the baby swallowing large quantities of air causing colic, as can tension or distortion in the region of the diaphragm.

Any impairment in the function of the diaphragm has a major effect on the ability of the stomach to retain and digest its contents. The diaphragm can be affected by stress through the trunk of the baby from its passage through the birth canal, from shock from the birth, or a poor first breath. If the umbilical cord has been subjected to tension during delivery, perhaps because it was wrapped around the baby’s neck, this can disturb the function of the diaphragm. Problems in this area will manifest frequently as windy babies, or as colic.

4) Sleep Disturbances

The close link between the sleeping and feeding patterns of a young baby has been established. A baby who does not take adequate milk at one feed will need to wake sooner for the next feed. This can easily develop into a ‘snacking and napping’ habit.

There are other things that can interfere with the sleeping patterns of babies. They may be prevented from falling into a really deep sleep, in which they shut out everything from the outside world, by discomfort in their head. In addition, the stresses of retained compression on the bony casing of the skull may be transmitted via the coverings of the brain (the meninges) to the brain itself. As a result, the baby’s nervous system may be kept in a persistently alert state. These babies sleep for only short periods at a time, and never seem to fall into a deep sleep. Later in the first year they are awakened by the slightest noise.

These sleeping patterns gradually become habit forming. If the baby is treated to release the retained birth compression when young, then this alone may be sufficient to solve the sleeping problem.

After the first year, even after the causative problem of the birth compression has been treated, this habit pattern may need working on separately by the parents. This may involve a few nights of being firm with the baby, just popping in and out to reassure him/her of the parent’s presence but not picking him/her up.

5) Head Banging

Head banging in a baby or young child can simply be caused by frustration or temper. However in many of these children, they are suffering from the effects of retained compression from birth. The head banging is an attempt by the child to relieve some of the pressure and discomfort in the head. Head banging usually stops after treatment of the underlying compression.

6) Effects of Prematurity

Babies who are born very prematurely suffer very high levels of shock and stress, as a result of being forcibly thrust into the world and having to struggle for survival, at a time when they should be protected and secure within the uterus. They are deprived of the reassuring presence of their mother, and their environment is one of wires, tubes and machines. This stress is palpable osteopathically often into adulthood, and can render the individual less able to cope with further stress in life.

Osteopathic treatment can be of great benefit in helping these babies, both during their early and most vulnerable time, and as they grow later on. Great care and skill is needed when treating sick, premature babies, as they are very oversensitive to any interference. However, very short treatments and the most gentle of approaches can be beneficial in helping to reduce shock in their system, which then helps them to become less hypersensitive. As they become more stable, treatments can be increased accordingly.

7) Sinus Problems & Mouth Breathers

One of the most common causes of restriction in sinus drainage in children (and adults) is retained moulding compression in the front of the head or behind the eyes. Normal growth and development of the sinuses is impaired, and the normal movement between the bones is restricted. The result is poor development and function of the sinuses. Affected children are often mouth breathers, have a constantly blocked or runny nose, and may find it difficult to blow their nose. The face often looks pinched around the bridge of the nose, and the nose may look unduly small.

8) Behavioural Problems & Hyperactivity

Restlessness in a child may lead on to constant fidgeting, difficulty sitting still and concentrating for any length of time, and even to hyperactivity. This often has implications once the child starts school since they find it very difficult to sit still and stay at any one task for more than short periods. This may slow their rate of learning.

Osteopathic treatment often helps the child to calm down, sleep better, sit still for longer periods, and therefore improve concentration and learning.

It may also be important to recognise and eliminate any foodstuffs that may be aggravating hyperactivity; common foodstuffs which may include artificial colourings & flavourings, sugar, chocolate, citrus fruits, potatoes and wheat.

9) Cerebral Palsy & other Brain Disorders

Osteopathic treatment is unique as a treatment therapy in that it can influence directly the effects of anoxia (oxygen starvation) on the nervous system. This does not mean that osteopathy can ‘cure’ cerebral palsy, rather that it can help the child develop to the best of his/her potential within the limitations of his/her present condition.

While osteopathic treatment cannot repair the areas of cell death in the brain, there is much that can be done to help the partially damaged areas to recover, and to improve the rate of learning. This helps to maximise the potential of the child’s development, and generally makes them more comfortable and happy.

10) Headaches

Headaches often start in children around the age of 7-8 years, which is when the sutures or joints between the bones of the skull form properly. This may be the first sign of retained compression in the child.

11) Asthma

Osteopathic treatment of asthma is aimed at improving the function of the chest as far as possible, and at reducing any underlying stresses such as retained moulding that may be increasing the sensitivity of an individual. Overall, the aim is to build up a margin of reserve in the individual so that an asthma attack will be less likely.

12) Development of the Spine

Osteopaths are well known for their treatment of spinal related conditions, mainly in adults. From birth, retained moulding in the head can set up stresses through the neck and thus through the rest of the spine, that increase the likelihood of back problems in later life.