Cranial Osteopathy..does it make baby worse?

[lauren23]

Hi all!

My son is nearly 5 weeks old and yesterday we took him to see a cranial osteopath.

He's generally a very well behaved baby..quite content and a good night sleeper. He does struggle with wind, but is not inconsolable.

The reason we took him to the CO is because I had a very traumatic birth which resulted in an epidural and forceps being used. He was a big baby at 9lb 13 and he got stuck going 'round the bend'. I just wanted her to check him over to make sure we could lose any areas of pain he might have.

Anyway, last night he hardly slept at all. He woke up pretty much every hour and wanted a feed every time he woke.

I just feel like I've done completely the wrong thing by taking him to the CO. Is it possible that it could have made him worse? Or does it happen that they get worse before better?

Please help!!

Your baby projectile vomited for 8 months straight? I believe that is called... um... reflux.

DS had it, too. Dr recommended special formula and it got better. Then his digestive system matured and it passed.

No need for woo whatsoever.

You need to read toffee's post.

Could you please also use a less offensive word than woo?

Magic?

The word "woo" is offensive? Come on.

Maybe I misunderstand- what does it mean?

"Dr recommended special formula and it got better."

Ah yes the magical formula that makes it all better.

We had that,

and the other one you can have, and milk intolerant stuff. And infacol, and gaviscon and double the usual dose gaviscon. and the staydown milk with double the normal dose Gaviscon that it was so thick it took two hours to give one bottle. All on prescription. And breast milk, threw up that too.

He could hit the other side of the room on a fairly regular basis, and cover entire sofas with ease. That was his normal.

He threw up constantly after eating from 0 to osteopath at 8months. after that he was on regular food and drink.

Still get "reflux". kept in check by osteo and on occasion also gaviscon still.

Sorry but he doesn't really fit into any of nice little boxes you are expecting him too. He is a little bit woo too.

So your understanding is that your baby threw up for 8 months for some reason that had to do with the rhythm of his cerebral fluid and the cranial osteopath magically fixed it for you?

Because that is what cranial osteopathy is. They don't claim to actually move skull plates (thankfully). They claim to regulate the flow of cerebrospinal fluid, whatever that means.

Complete and utter woo, in other words. Your baby had a self-limiting biological problem that led to him throwing up loads. So did mine. My DS's problem passed. So did yours.

I'm sorry that you got conned in this way, but you really aren't going to convince anyone that there is something there because there really isn't.

Oh and also...

"Ah yes the magical formula that makes it all better."

If you read the next sentence, it says Then his digestive system matured and it passed.

So did yours'.

You do realise you ignore whatever part of the evidence doesn't fit with your preconceived expectations?

So the projectile vomiting goes away when it doesn't fit with your idea that a baby doesn't projectile vomit unless he has gastroenteritis but gastroenteritis doesn't last 8 months.

Dr recommended special formula and it got better. Then his digestive system matured and it passed
That stay down milk helps it get better. Except it didnt so we just ignore that part of the argument and focus on the bit where it resolves when the digestive system matures.

Except it didnt. Unless darling sons digestive system matures and immatures on an 6/8 weekly cycle. (Which coincidly coincidences with visits to a lady who does nothing!)

I would rather any mum tried cranial osteopathy than go through what we went through. Because I have seen it works.

The core of your believe is that it doesn't work. That's fine for you. But trying to impose that view on mums and baby's for whom it might make an incredible improve is sad.

I don't know what your baby's problem was, and clearly neither do you.

What I do know is that it wasn't "treated" by a snake oil salesman who pretended to heal your baby's digestive issues by hovering hands over his head, claiming to bring harmony to his cerebrospinal fluid. That is complete nonsense.

No doubt there is another explanation, possibly involving selective perception and confirmation bias on your part, but we are not likely to figure it out now.

Please read this analysis of cranial osteopathy on BioMed, from the Department of Anatomy, College of Osteopathic Medicine, University of New England.

Abstract
Background
According to the original model of cranial osteopathy, intrinsic rhythmic movements of the human brain cause rhythmic fluctuations of cerebrospinal fluid and specific relational changes among dural membranes, cranial bones, and the sacrum. Practitioners believe they can palpably modify parameters of this mechanism to a patient's health advantage.

Discussion
This treatment regime lacks a biologically plausible mechanism, shows no diagnostic reliability, and offers little hope that any direct clinical effect will ever be shown. In spite of almost uniformly negative research findings, "cranial" methods remain popular with many practitioners and patients.

Summary
Until outcome studies show that these techniques produce a direct and positive clinical effect, they should be dropped from all academic curricula; insurance companies should stop paying for them; and patients should invest their time, money, and health elsewhere.

Competing interests
I have taught at the same college of osteopathic medicine for 20 years. Ordinarily, this might prompt suspicion that I have not been openly forthcoming in my criticism of osteopathy's "cranial" subdiscipline. To the contrary, some members of my professional community have questioned my loyalty, apparently believing that my views might have a negative impact on the college or the osteopathic profession. Otherwise, I declare that I have no competing interests.

You realise only in the last year or so they found a whole new "nervous system" and whole net set of links between the brain and the body. Changed medical text books. To quote kipnis ,, ??I really did not believe there are structures in the body that we are not aware of. I thought the body was mapped,??....??I thought that these discoveries ended somewhere around the middle of the last century. But apparently they have not.?? neurosciencenews.com/lymphatic-system-brain-neurobiology-2080/

What we know about the human body is limited, we don't know how limited. To say there is no biological basis is pure arrogance. There may be no biological basis in accordance with our present understanding. That is not quite the same thing.

I don't know what your baby's problem was, and clearly neither do you.

And neither do the doctors even now.... but in the end it wasn't science that sorts us out it is the "woo" lady. I am happy to accept there are things I don't understand

I don't say stay down milk didn't help us so it won't help you. Or even ask to provide empirical evidence of its affectiveness vs cost (which would be interesting) I do accept it is one thing in a very large toolbox that can be tried.

It seems a shame to reduce the number of tools on the toolbox on the basis of our limited present understanding of the body.

If it works great if it doesn't ironically usually the first person to say "no sorry I don't think I can help" is the osteopath.

So what, every new discovery is proof that your brand of woo is real? Yes, there are things you don't understand. Let's leave it at that.

Read the link I provided - a professor of osteopathy explaining why "cranial osteopathy" is bullshit.