To ask if cranial osteopathy is a load of bollocks or not?

[RachelWalsh]

I often see people on here discussing having visited cranial osteopaths with their babies or recommending that others do so to solve sleep, feeding problems etc. Quite often they seem to have been given really odd advice re feeding etc by the osteopath.

What is the science behind cranial osteopathy? Is it scientifically proven? Does it work and if so how?

Disclaimer- I probably incline towards a more Ben Goldacre bad science approach to these things I just wondered what other people thought and if they had had success with this. I kind of suspect they are taking advantage of new parents desperation to solve sleep problems etc...

I still take my DDs and they are 10 and 14. The eldest is ASD and it helps her relax and destresses her. The oestopath alwsys knows if tgey have had a fall when we go

When they were babies DD1s head was stuck on one side she couldnt turn her head at all, she was forceps so a bit bashed! One session and she was fine. She used to go when she was a toddler to help her recurrant ear infections.

It cured DD2 from horrific reflux. I was never given advice on feeding etc and no mentions of energy line. Though it wouldnt have bothered me because Im very woo .

Nobody is saying osteopathy is rubbish, though. Then again, osteopathy is about manipulation of joints.

The problems I have with "cranial osteopathy" on infants is that there are no joints to manipulate in the skull, and apparently its practitioners barely touch the babies, so not manipulating anything anyway.

"Minute energy fields" is just daft.

I'm a total sceptic - thought it was along the same lines as homeopathy, especially when I read the "science" behind it.

But with a 10 week old constantly crying baby, who had a ping pong fracture which was a birth injury thanks for forceps, I took him to a Cranial Osteopath - supposedly the best for kids in the NW, and...

although I didnt like the guy, it definately worked. Went for 3 sessions and not only was there a dramatic improvement in the reduction of crying, but his indented head lost its dent - even though he didnt touch near the fracture. I dont know how it worked - as it was a bit "healing hands", but I really do think it did help my DS

Wasn't that dent supposed to heal?

DD was born with overlapping skull plates (difficult birth, her head was squeezed). That cured itself, too, and without anyone waving hands over her head.

The dent was expected to become shallower but the neurosurgeon had said it would mostly grow out by the time he was 7 years old and would be covered by hair anyway if not.

DS still is a pretty bald baby (now 10 months), so it was really noticable after one session in particular that the dent had become more like a flat area on his skull instead of the indent it had been previously.

Didn't work for my DD.

I have also had some very positive experiences with osteopathic treatment on myself and my children. My DS's have had treatments for colic, restlessness and poor sleeping when they were babies.

DS1 has suffered from ear infections which repeated antibiotics were not clearing up, Osteopathy treatments have helped the ears to drain, relieved pain and helped speed up recovery. DS1 also had a couple of treatments while he had croup, on the first one, he couldn't speak when he went in and he could when he came out.

They also see the Osteopath when they have coughs as releasing the chest and allowing the lungs and the ribs to move more freely aids recovery. DS2 was a very snotty baby and streamed clear mucus from his nose constantly for months, after one particular treatment to treat this, it stopped within 12 hours.

DD has not required much treatment but on two occasions, she has been not quite herself, running a low level unexplained fever, been very quiet and unsmiling for a couple of days. She complained of a sore neck and 20 minutes into the treatment to release whatever stiffness was there, she giggled and laughed and her temperature returned to normal within an hour.

I have also had treatment post pregnancy, and after a blow to the jaw (helping a friend to do a handstand in yoga, not domestic violence!!) after which I was able to move my jaw again and it relieved the pain.

A friend who was struggling with breast feeding saw a positive difference in her milk production on one side that was not producing as much mill as the other. I can't remember the exact details but there is a nerve between the third and fourth intercostal muscles that is instrumental in triggering the let down reflex (explained to me by a qualified lactation consultant) and massaging this can allow the body to produce / release milk if it is blocked in some way.

Didn't work for my DS (took him aged 3 months as last resort) and I was astonished by how woo it was, the number of times it had been recommended I thought it was Proper Science like, and it was apparently about waving fingers over head. There was no difference in screaming or sleep.

On the other hand she did me too and it was very relaxing (I feel just lying down somewhere nice smelling and calm after 3 months of colic-baby was key here), also she asked lots of questions about the birth and made me feel like at last someone was really interested in me and my baby and how difficult everything was (I was a very needy first time mum - I am less its-all-about-me-and-my-baby now). So that was nice. Probably not £40 worth of nice though,. or however much it was.

This was cranio-sacral therapy by the way.

I posted about this on the other thread. DS2 had massive feeding problems which turned out to be mainly due to a posterior tongue-tie. It was diagnosed late as we were referred to a tongue-tie specialist who couldn't evaluate him properly as his jaw was too tight. She suggested cranial osteopathy as he had been a very rapid delivery with a hand by his jaw and had a slightly lopsided head.

The osteopath we went to looked at him and immediately asked if he had been born with a hand by his face and explained exactly how the various bits of anatomy are connected. He also correctly guessed that he had been a rapid delivery.

He did the very gentle, "laying on of hands" type manipulation and DS2 immediately stopped his constant arm waving and grumbling, took a deep breath and relaxed and lay there beaming and cooing at the osteopath.

Over 3 sessions his head straightened up and his feeding improved. When we went back to the tongue-tie clinic the mw could check his suck properly and get at the tongue-tie.

I am not into gimmicks and fads - no trendy baby classes or latest gadgets here - but I would recommend cranial osteopathy to anyone with a specific issue that could be related to discomfort or tension.