Osteopathy for Children in Brighton
What is Osteopathy?
Osteopathy is the practice of assessing and treating conditions that are related to the musculoskeletal system of the body. The treatment usually involves the massaging and manipulation of the body’s bones, joints, muscles, ligaments and tendons.
Health problems that occur in babies and children
From the time babies are born and throughout their growth they will experience trauma and extreme stress that can cause abnormality in their musculoskeletal development.
Being taken out of the womb during birth (especially in cases where delivery is quick), and the normal falls, accidents and the rapid growth of their bodies associated with growing up, can all be contributing factors responsible for the abnormal development of ligaments, tendons, joints, bones, and muscles covering them.
Sometimes injuries and inflammations may arise from playing games and sports, and other times, bad posture can be the cause of musculoskeletal conditions.
Quite often when a baby is born, it carries along with it the stress of birth and can develop an odd shaped head or bruising as a result. As the baby cries, yawns and suckles, this recedes to an incomplete level, causing the baby to live in pain and discomfort. Various health challenges occur in the baby as a result. They include:
Treatment
Unlike adults, children have very flexible bodies. This makes it easy for them to undergo osteopathy treatments for a wide range of problems. While children don’t need osteopathy treatments, they can however benefit immensely at every stage of their growth. Children often need physical, mental, social and spiritual healing throughout their development. Osteopathy is a medical practice that uses Osteopathic Manipulative Treatments along with standard Western medicine (in some cases) to treat these wide range of challenges in children and adults alike. It can be used to ease the effects of acute and long-standing stress.
Stress in children can be manifested as anxiety, headaches, nightmares or disturbed sleep, susceptibility to colds and coughs, skin irritations or tummy aches. The process involves releasing strains, reducing distortions and restrictions, encouraging movement within the face, head and the body framework by using gentle stretching and massage techniques to calm the sympathetic nervous system i.e. the one in charge of the ‘fight/flight’ response.
The stress causes the adrenal glands to become overworked. Very indirect osteopathic treatment otherwise known as cranial osteopathy causes the overworked adrenal glands and other parts of this system to be less on ‘red alert’ and returns the body to a more natural, balanced state. As a result, many children regain their former happy dispositions.