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Cranial Osteopathy
Cranial osteopathy is a refined and subtle type of osteopathic
treatment that encourages the release of stresses and tensions
throughout the body, including the head. It is a gentle yet
extremely effective approach and may be used in a wide range
of conditions for people at all stages of life, from birth to
old age.
It is a very relaxing approach where the osteopath's hands
rest gently on different parts of the skull and face. With experience
and training, it is possible to detect patterns of tension within
the tissues underneath and to work rhythmically with these.
While it can appear to be effective at relieving symptoms, cranial
osteopathy aims to treat the whole person not just the condition,
so patients in a very wide range of situations may benefit.
It is also a very conservative and safe form of treatment.
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What can cranial osteopathy treat?
Many people believe that cranial osteopathy can cure just about
everything from glue ear to stress, infantile colic, asthma, headaches,
migraines, sinus problems, recurrent infections, period pain,
hormonal problems, digestive difficulties, sleep disorders and
so on. To date, no proper scientific research exists to support
any of these claims. This may be for several reasons. It would
be ethically difficult, for example, to approve a proper clinical
trial on babies in distress who could not communicate properly.
There is also likely to be a lack of funding available for an
expensive trial, where there is no possibility of generating a
lucrative drug patent as a result. The theoretical basis that
the almost imperceptible rhythms of fluid dynamics within the
skull will have a strong influence on physiological wellbeing
and that these rhythms can be reliably detected and permanently
altered by an external hand also takes a moment to digest.
Without a clear link between cause and effect, it would be wrong
to claim that cranial osteopathy has a useful role to play in
any of the general medical situations described above. Having
said that, I do find that cranial osteopathy is extremely popular
with patients. Anecdotally, many report making good progress in
a variety of scenarios.
When osteopaths examine babies, for example, areas of tension
are often found in the spine or head which may indicate that the
baby is uncomfortable. A baby can't complain of backache or headache,
and will typically express this instead by crying and being unsettled
or irritable. In recent unpublished research into the effects
of cranial osteopathic treatment, some parents perceived the following
changes in their children’s behaviour: reduced colicky crying,
improved sleep, less unsettled irritable behaviour and increased
quiet happy spells. For further information, please see our page
about osteopathy for babies and children.
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