Osteopaths are increasingly being asked to treat babies and children for complaints attributable to mechanical strains acquired before or during the birth process.  For a parent, the treatment is particularly welcome as it does not involve the use of any drugs and is non invasive.

Osteopathy is based on the principle that all ailments whether minor or serious are as a result of an imbalance somewhere within the body's systems.  A paediatric osteopath will use manual techniques to bring about profound changes within the body through gentle manipulation.  This allows the different body systems (e.g the nervous system, the digestive system, the muscular system, the circulatory system) to work effectively and optimally.

Birth is one of the most stressful events in our lives, baby is subject to enormous forces as the uterus pushes to expel baby against the natural resistance of the birth canal.  The small amounts of movement that exist in the infant skull permit the baby's head to adapt to the forces of labour, with the soft bones overlapping, bending and warping as baby descends, in order to reduce the size of the head allowing passage down the birth canal.. 

 The baby’s head has the remarkable ability to absorb these stresses and in the first few days the head can usually be seen to gradually lose this extreme moulded shape, as the baby feeds and cries.  However, the infant head may not fully recover from the distortion, especially if the birth has been difficult.  This may result in subtle changes in function, leading to problems such as feeding difficulties, irritability and disturbed sleep patterns.

 When osteopaths examine babies, areas of tension are often found in the spine or head, which are indications that the baby is uncomfortable.  A baby cannot complain of backache or headache, and will typically express this by crying and being unsettled or irritable.

 As the child grows, problems may become apparent which may have arisen because of earlier strains, or as a result of trauma such as knocks on the head, or falls.  Mechanical stresses within the body can upset a child’s development, behaviour, sleep patterns, and general health, as well as causing aches and pains. Asymmetry of the head, neck and body can lead to postural imbalances and discomfort or tension in the musculoskeletal system of the body, which can result in the child being fidgety, making sitting still difficult, and therefore affecting concentration.