Does osteopathy work?

[BigPigLittlePig]

I have a 19 week old dd, who has suffered with reflux since a few weeks old. It had all eased off, and she was off her meds, but in the past few weeks it has reared its head again. There are several things going on - she's 4 months (sleep regression), possibly teething (although nothing to see), a bit of constipation (thanks to Gaviscon) and the reflux. All this is conspiring to make a very miserable baby who is not keen on sleep, and me & her are suffering as a result. My lovely dm has offered to pay for osteopathy, but I wondered what peoples experiences of this have been? Has it worked?

[houmousandcarrotsandwich]

In my experience (my DD) yes it did work.
She was a refluxer who just didn't sleep. By 7 months I was desperate,I needed some sleep! I felt I had nothing to loose (apart from 40 quid!)
First session, osteopath found loads of things. Had treatment on the Friday, she slept through for the 1st time on the Saturday! And has done ever since, she is now 11 months.
It def helped with reflux too. She is still a little now but it doesn't her.
I would say it's worth a try, good luck x

[spekulatius]

Yes I would also recommend. Saw one after foecepts delivery. It's a natural way of putting the body right.

[Dey83]

I saw one for reflux and startling. Reflux never got better but the startling did. Still not sure if it was the treatment or her own development.

I would say worth a try

[houmousandcarrotsandwich]

Did you go for it bigpig? How did you get on?

[Theonlyoneiknow]

I also went to a cranial osteopath for colic and mild reflux and forceps delivery and it definitely made a positive difference

[teacherlikesapples]

It is certainly not an approach backed by science or research (alternative medicine as opposed to the methods that have been through & passed scrutiny to become conventional methods)
So a particularly risky call for a young growing body.

I know adults that have had ok results (it is not something that worked for me & I was horrified once I looked more into the risks etc...)

Drs, Physiotherapists (i.e people with solid evidence based medical training will ALWAYS be a safer bet)

If you do decide to go with an osteopath- at least try & choose one with medical training/background.

[superbabysmummy]

Definitely! I found it a great help. Baby not feeding/latching on etc. of all health professionals incl. docs, midwives, HV she was the only one who caught the severe posterior tongue tie DD had

[BigPigLittlePig]

Haven't yet made up my mind - I'm a doctor myself, so have always thought this sort of thing was a bit "woo" and laughed at my mum for going for years DD is on medication for her reflux which is helping, I just wonder whether this might make her more settled/content. My mum has said that it's not much more than a massage that they do for the babies so it doesn't seem too risky.

Teacher I think proper osteopaths have a degree in the subject, and are registered with some official body. I suspect there are some fakes out there though.

[Pocketmonster]

Yes definitely - my DD saw a cranial osteoblasts it helped with sleeping, teeth grinding and anxiety.

Never thought of my osteo as 'alternative' though - thought it was mainstream?

[Pocketmonster]

*osteopath - obviously

< bloody iPad>

[awwwwmannnn]

funny enough i am taking DD to see a cranial osteopath on Saturday morning for her first assessment.

she is 2.4 and very slow with speech, she has had tonsillitis 5 times in 6 months, has had some build of fluid in her ears which clears and comes back, cannot breathe through her nose, snores like a 60 stone drunk man and my GP has said she is fine

anyways, after looking into this A LOT it really does seem to do the trick with some babies/toddlers. i figure i have to do everything i can to help my DD and so an assessment has been arranged for Saturday.

i'll let you know how we get on xx

[houmousandcarrotsandwich]

The guy I saw was brilliant and has lots of experience/qualifications (good old Google )

I agree, a year a go I would have said it was possibly a bit 'out there'. Didn't need one for my older child, so why this time. But the joy of these treatments on children (or animals) is they don't know what been done. They don't realise the massage type thing they have will relieve their discomforts. Placebo can't happen.