Cranial osteopathy

[fifitot]

I am biting the bullet and going for an initial treatment with my 4 month old DS. He has a bit of a flat head as well as some feeding and sleep issues.

I am nervous about it. I have read some previous posts on MN which say how good CO is but any recent sucess stories? Especially in relation to flat spots on head?

Does he have any neck tightenings? Does he have a preference to sleeping facing one way over another? If so, cranial osteopathy should help to relieve any neck tightening / pressure which might have caused the flat spot.

BUT, some babies develop flat spots without having any neck tightenings. Not sure it would help if he can freely and easily and voluntarily move his head in both directions.

We did CO with both of our LOs, for colic and reflux (DS1) and colic (DS2) and it worked well and I believe helped them 'relax' and 'unwind' from pressures of birth.

We had it with ds2 but not for plagiocephaly. My dd had the helmet treatment. I recommend you go along for the CO as it can help a number of problems. It would help if you had a diagnosis of torticulis first so you could start work on neck exercises.

Not sure about neck tightening but certainly hates feeding from right side and favours the left (BF).

It can't do any harm is my view so will see. He is very windy and colicy as well so if helps with that all the better.

Of course will also see GP but suspect he won't be interested given others' experiences.

Can he look both ways as in moving his head and neck?

Yes I think so.

Checking would be useful as if he can fully move his head he doesn't have torti.

Should help with wind and colic. It did with both DSs.

Reminds me of the huge farts DS2 did during the sessions!

Def can move head so don't think he has torticullis.

Hope it helps with his wind.

My dd was back to back in early labour and turned on her way out. After that she only ever slept on one side of her head (every photo prooves this)

I took her for about 4 months and it was great. She was snuffly before we took her and that cleared up and now her flat head has gone.

We saw an improvement very early on and her neck loosened up.

Defo worth it.

Good stuff. Am looking forward to the visit now.

When you talk about a flat spot on head are you talking about positional plagiocephaly?
A flat spot at the back where he rests his head while sleeping.

If so, no treatment is generally required and this will correct itself by his first birthday.

As for the other issues, I think it's worth mentioning that cranial osteopathy (often termed craniosacral therapy) has no biological plausibility and the evidence base is far from encouraging.

There are also some risks on file which shouldn't be brushed over.

This is obviously at odds with a lot of personnel experience presented here, and on other threads that have appeared here on MN.

The posters aren't stupid or gullible.
And they're not lying.

But it is almost impossible for an individual to filter out all the confounding factors which can skew their judgement.

I almost certainly haven't put that very well but Beyerstein has written a readable and meticulous analysis.
I hope it's of interest.

Thanks - I think.......

Essentially though you can buy into alternative medicine or not. I do in the main as have had sucess with treatment using both reflexology and acupuncture.

It isn't just the flat spot - there are sleep and feeding issues. I have read up on it and it appears that it is at worst - ineffective. There are studies which show an improvement in baby sleeping after treatment via Manchester University, so some positive evidence.

Are you talking about Philip Owen?

I think he's local to that area and he's been in the media before regarding these issues.

Didn't realise he published something though?

Do you have a link (I'd like a look even if it's not him)?

And with regard to your previous experiences, both reflexology and acupuncture are based on faulty physiological principles and when closely studied (which took some work for acupuncture in particular) have no efficacy beyond placebo.

As I said, it's very common for people to have positive experiences with alternative therapies.
But that doesn't mean that they are effective or safe.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/157585.stm

Not sure if it's what you were looking for.

TBH - while I appreciate you posting it's not really helping me! I was in 2 minds about going for this assessment but had made up my mind. I understand you are coming from what seems like a very academic POV. However there is a greater debate to be had on alternative therapies than I would ever have the knowledge for.

At the end of the day I really think, if it works (psychologically or not), then use it, placebo or not.

Thanks.

. A Study of the Efficacy of Cranial Osteopathic Treatment on Neonates, Infants and Children with Sleep Disturbances
PHILIP N. OWEN, D.O., BSc.,(Hons)

Thats the reference.

"If so, no treatment is generally required and this will correct itself by his first birthday."

This is not always the case.

I hope it does correct itself.

It is more than the flat spot that concerns me really. Just want to see if I can get help with his sleeping as well. That is becoming more of an issue at the moment. I will see how it goes.

This is all I can find which matches what you posted.

And, as best I can tell from the little information available, this is not a good level of evidence.

Hope things get better whatever you decide.

Agree with Phipps.

Positional plagiocephaly does for many, improve over time, as the head grows and the baby becomes more mobile, so less pressure is put on the flat spot. From my own experience, and other mums with LOs with plagiocephaly, it certainly improves.
BUT, some cases of positional plagiocephaly do remain. There is no way of knowing which will improve and which don't.

"Will correct itself by the first birthday" is quite a claim to make.

Fifitot - I really believe you are doing the best thing addressing this whilst your LO is so young. Hopefully you've also read about repositioning techniques? Sleepcurve mattress? Goi goi pillows? Main thing is to avoid putting any pressure on the flat spot - avoiding long spells in car seats and baby bouncers. Using bumbo, slings etc as much as possible.

Good luck

I was attempting to quote the nhs website.

"Positional plagiocephaly is quite a common condition and it does not cause any health problems. Although an infant?s head may become flattened during the first few months of life, the shape of their head will usually correct itself by their first birthday."

I apologise if I was unclear.

I have looked at the products you suggest sheepslike and am thinking about them. I am definately being careful about positioning and keeping baby upright alot. THanks.

The problem is you have no way of knowing if it is positional or not and would right itself in time. There is a relatively short window in which to do something and in our case we weren't willing to wait and see and there were other problems so I am certain it wasn't positional.

There could be problems if your child needs glasses as the ears won't be symmetrical which would make fitting glasses tricky.