It bothered me last night that I upset FabulousBakerGirl so I just wanted to come back. I'm sorry FBG, I was sarcastic and that's not on.
I don't doubt the sincerity of FBG's experience, but I do doubt it was down to cranial osteopathy's efficacy, more down to the therapeutic role and unwitting cold reading.
I also do not think I know better. In fact the opposite. I don't make any huge claims for a biologically preposterous intervention as some have on here. I'm simply saying there's no evidence it works. I don't think that's arrogant, just sensible.
Dittany. Yes, I'm aware of case studies and have read many in the course of my job. But they have to be used with extreme caution in conjuction with and are not the basis of randomised double blind trials, for obvious reasons. People are not reliable reporters of their own experience, particularly when it comes to self-limiting disorders.
Ladylush. I am also aware of the NICE acupuncture endorsement. Acupuncture, like cranial osteopathy, is biologically implausible. You are correct in that trials have proved its mild (stress mild) efficacy in pain and nausea -- two conditions where a patient's perception, and therefore the placebo effect, intertwine. Acupunture is a fairly invasive treatment and as a placebo delivery system it can be quite effective. Conventional medicine can do pretty much nothing for chronic back pain so no wonder it's gaining currency in mainstream medicine. I suspect it is a similar issue with cranial osteopathy but I doubt the baby gets much from the therapeutic role, so it could just be the parents feel more in control, like someone caring has listened to them and helped.
I am not dismissing CO out of hand. I used to be an enthusiastic user of chiropractic services and have been to a CO once. I have come to my conclusions because I became aware that there was no proper evidence (save unreliable anecdotal reports) that it works. It's biologically implausible, like many other alternative therapies. And it only treats self-limiting disorders, which again raised my doubts.
I am interested in the placebo response, which is poorly understood, and in the therapeutic relationship -- which I think is at the heart of alternative therapy.
mummymimi. I have been to a CO but also my interest stems from my work. I am a news journalist and for a long while I covered the healthcare sector.
Again, I don't like to piss on other people's bonfires and have only come on the thread because the OP wanted both sides.