Cranial Osteopathy for toddlers?

[samiryn]

Anyone had any experience of this? I'm taking 2yr old DS tomorrow for a consultation because of his terrible sleep (or lack of!).

Not really sure what to expect except alot of head rubbing?!! lol

TIA

No actual evidence for this working I am afraid, at least, not beyond placebo.

You might consider saving the money and spending it on a babysitter so you can get some rest.

I don't need a babysitter, I need someone to help me teach the poor child to sleep constructively. He's an ex-prem (25 weeker) with a few issues and his behaviour and sleep are greatly affected.

I've tried every trick in the book so far... this is another stab at finding something to make his and my life better and easier.

Thank you for your suggestion though!

We see one for my 18 month. Not for sleep ( but his condition did effect his sleep) We have noticed a difference in his condition - been a gradual improvement over 3 months.

The first time is usually a long discussion on your child, perhaps the birth etc....
It is gentle manipulation on the skull area or other areas if necessary.

I see an osteopath for an area of my own health and it was the only thing that worked after years of NHS consultants and taking meds. I am not knocking the NHS - but you have find what suits the individual. In fact many Dr's think osteopathy works and is a good option.

As far as I know there will be no rubbing, or manipulation, just a laying on of hands. I take my dd and she loves it and it has helped with her recurrant chest infections. Have had it myself and makes you feel a bit tingly and relaxed. If you look here you can see a video of babies being treated at the foundation of pediatric osteopath in London - that's where we go it's brilliant

It's worth a try.I took ds1 and I think it helped but there was so much sneering by folk I knew I gave up with it. Wish I'd told them all to keep their beaks out now.

Hi, I'm reading with interest, I'm considering taking my DS to cranial osteopath, he has some plagiocephaly and a strong preference for looking in one direction only. Looking at some C.O. websites though it does sound a little like quackery. Some websites mention that costs can be covered by bupa policies etc, so that makes me think there must be some conventional, measurable benefits. Our GP has referred DS to a paediatrician, but after 2 weeks waiting so far we still don't even have an appointment.

Bubs - do consider it for that purpose. That is one of the reasons we took my YS. When he was born his head was all squished. We were told it would get better as he got older. Not bad enough for a helmet but still noticeable.
He never looked happy when sleeping ( if he would sleep ? rarely did). Was a miserable tense baby with colic and was turning into a grumpy toddler. He was very hard work to love I am afraid to say because there was no smiley rewards etc?.. Just screams, lack of sleep and tension!
We took him for different reasons really but they have treated the misshapen skull. He was over 16 months old so there is little they can do about actual shape at this stage. I think we have had 4 or 5 sessions and it has eased tension around his neck/head/spine area. He looks content when sleeping now and his personality is so much more sunshiney. We have fallen head over heels in love with him again. We noticed very subtle changes at first but a few months on and he?s much happier in himself ? there was a huge sense of humour hidden by his pain. I watch him sleeping and he?s not fidgeting and restless, he looks like angel they are meant to look like. Our families don?t live near and they saw him at the weekend after a few months and couldn?t believe his personality change.
I wish I had taken him earlier.

Ours is specialised in babies/children. And he?s good. Osteopaths tend to have areas they specialise in so it is worth looking around, phone up for a brief chat. A good one will phone you back and have a chat to see if they can help.

Hi all, today I did make an appt for C.O. for DS, so we're going on Fri. If anyone's interested I can post again afterwards to update. I'm approaching this with a little scepticism however. Pancake f - thanks for your experiences, and Samiryn - how did your DS's appt go? I phoned a CO near to us, she tells me she's worked with many babies, including some with plagio. Cost is £33 per session so I'm hoping for quick results! Funnily enough DS is a contented little fella, so we have none of the problems with fussiness or sleep troubles which people usually consult COs. My DD was a fussy baby (didn't sleep through til 3yo, needed holding the whole time). Her head shape has always been perfect tho!

We made a deal with our CO - we'd do 3 session if no progress then quit. But even my cynical OH noted a difference so we are still there! We go less frequently. It was once a fortnight, then 3 weeks, then once a month, then 6 weeks etc.....

Hope it goes well and she's a good one. Ask questions to what she's doing and problem areas.

In the first 6 weeks of DSs life, he was unhappy. After each feed, he'd tense up in pain and was always fractious and crying.

I took him to see a cranial and with one session, he was a changed baby. I literally saw him change in front of my eyes.

The cranial said he had a blocked abdomen which was causing him digestive problems, hence the pain and tensing. Some very gentle manipulation of the area and problem solved!

We went back to see him for one more treatment but to be honest, probably didn't need a second treatment - i wanted one, just in case!

I've since taken him back when he was about 7 months old when we were weaning onto solids as DS was very constipated and I wasn't happy with the GPs solution to give him lactulose. I wanted to sort the problem not the symptoms.

Again, some gentle manipulation around DSs tummy, one poo explosion later and no constipation ever since!

So, for all those who say is quackery - I beg to differ!

Hi Samiryn - I have had my DD treated by a CO due to her general grumpiness and unsettleness when she was 6 weeks old. The CO was fantastic and said that she probably had a low grade headache since birth due to certain bones in her head, neck and spine being squished. I too thought it was a bit of a con but was so desperate. It was the best thing I have ever done. I would just say though, don't expect it to fix everything you still may need sleep training when it is appropriate but if there is something niggling inside it will defo help. My HV said there was an article in the Midwivery News (or something like that) which said it has been regonised as helpful and that the CO's are being accedited to some sort of organisation (don't know any facts or figures I'm afraid).
Try it for a few sessions and see how it goes. Be warned though some babies sleep all day after it but some go banzi for the day which mine did but only after the first session (it was awful but I perserved and it was fine every other time).
Hope this helps?

My DS3 who is now 8 was a very poorly baby - born smallish he was sick from day 1 - I BF for a little while but realy struggled despite no trouble before - he couldn't latch on properly. The sickness continued and when I say sick...... The Exorcist is the nearest I can relate to. He had barium swallows - even a gastroscopy - general anaethetic for that at 18 months!! Medical profession could not find a conclusive problem - one even asked if he ever vomited in front of anyone else! I invited him to look after him for a week and come back to me.
My husband suggested CO and he used to take him - our regular osteopath that we have used for years had begun to specialise and was also an asthma expert.
It helped tremendously - the CO said DS3 had a lot of fluid blockages and was producing far too much pleghm (Yes we did dairy free for months)
His manipulation helped lot and gave us months of respite from the vomiting. Eventually when he was 4 someone sggested ENT rather han Gastro and we went privately and were told he had the biggest tonsils they had ever seen (why had no-one mentioned this before)
Anyway they won't take them out till about 4 anyway - he had the lot done, tonsils, adenoids and grommets fitted - changed our lives.
He still only looks about 5 eveb though he is 8 - so behind it breaks my heart.. bloody medics.

Hiya. Took DS and he seemed to quite enjoy having his head felt. He slept like a dream that night (though is back to his uusal tricks now) and have agreed with the CO to try 5 sessions and see how it helps. The CO noticed DS had bad glue ear - which affects his hearing - but she wasn't sure on everything (still leaving me a little dubious if I'm honest). She also said his bones are so hard in his head like an adult, and he's very tense... he is a stressbag it's true!!
....We shall see! At £35 a pop I'm hoping to get some results sooner than later!

DS had very severe plagio from having bad torticollis btw, and was treated with a helmet very sucessfully.
Bubs - GP should have referred to a physio, not Paed. Paed probably won't do anything other than refer to a physio if the torticollis is bad enough (speaking from experience!). How was your CO appointment??

iamamug - I'm sorry your medics were so bad, they sound like my local