Trauma and Head Injuries
If you consider that your body is made up of over 70% fluid you may understand why high impact trauma has such lasting implications. Releasing stresses in all tissues even those that are not outwardly painful can make a huge difference to the patient’s well-being. Similarly paying attention to all the tissues in your head making sure they all move freely will greatly speed up the recovery for the patient. Osteopaths are very skilled at rebalancing you after trauma.
Elderly and Chronic Disease
I enjoy working with older people as sometimes simple realignments can take away years of discomfort. Osteopathy improves your mobility and assist the healing in your connective tissue. Many chronic conditions like the various types of arthritis, autoimmune disorders, chronic fatigue, respiratory disorders or digestive problems can greatly benefit from osteopathy. And it is safe and gentle enough to treat you into your nineties.
Children
Young children are seen for a whole variety of problems by osteopaths mostly for unresolved strain patterns from the birth process. If untreated these could lead to a variety of health issues throughout life. For example, a strain at the base of the skull can irritate the nervous system enough to contribute to colic. A colicky child is irritable, does not sleep well and is restless. As it outgrows the colic, the restlessness persists possibly turning to hyperactivity and concentration problems at school. The underlying strain becomes denser, headaches develop the child gets exhausted which may lower the immunity.
Newborns and Infants
Osteopaths feel that about 90% of of newborns have palpable strain patterns in their head after birth. Misshapen heads (KISS) or an inability to turn the head fully both ways, scoliosis and hip problems are a clear indication of structural problems. Persistent crying, colic, reflux, sucking difficulties, sleeping problems or ear infections are often also related to more subtle structural problems that can be sensed by the osteopath and are amenable to treatment.
Young Children
Obviously we treat children after falls and head injuries but osteopathy can also greatly assist the young child struggling with asthma, eczema or recurring ear infections. Attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders can benefit from cranial osteopathy in conjunction with other health interventions. Headaches that have no organic cause respond well to osteopathy.
Special Needs Children
A mechanical and developmental understanding of the issues associated with conditions like Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome or Achondroplasia e.g. will unable us to offer treatment that is specifically tailored to the child’s needs to improve overall function. Where required, treatment of the facial bones and oral cavity can give significant improvements in breathing and drainage.
