|
The Cranial Rhythm
Cranial osteopaths are trained to feel a very subtle, rhythmical shape change that is present in all body tissues. This is called Involuntary Motion or the Cranial Rhythm. The movement is of very small amplitude, therefore it takes practitioners with a very finely developed sense of touch to feel it. This rhythm was first described in the early 1900's and its existence was confirmed in a series of laboratory tests in the 1960's and '70's.
Tension in the body disrupts the cranial rhythm. Practitioners compare what your rhythm is doing to what they consider ideal. This shows them what stresses and strains your body is under at present, and what tensions it may be carrying as a result of its past history. It also gives them an insight into the overall condition of your body, for example if it is healthy, or stressed and tired.
What can cranial osteopaths treat?
While it can be highly effective at relieving symptoms cranial osteopathy aims to treat the whole person not just the condition, so a very wide range of situations may benefit from treatment. These may include back and neck pain; joint pain and sports injuries; headaches, migraines and sinus problems; stress; recurrent infection; period pain; digestive difficulties; and treatment may also benefit general health and well-being. In babies and children many problems such as crying, colic, sleeping and feeding difficulties may be helped.
Learning Difficulties, Special Needs
Learning difficulties may prevent a child realising their full potential. Although each child is an individual with their own unique learning path, there are certain common features. Learning difficulties (including dyslexia and dyspraxia) can be broadly categorised into two main causes:
Neurological: an inability of the brain to process information correctly.
Physical: an inability of the musculoskeletal system of the body to respond appropriately to orders from the brain.
Osteopathy may be able to help both types to varying degrees. Both can be due to physical strain and discomfort in a child's body limiting the development of both the brain and the musculoskeletal system. The most common cause of this is unresolved strain from the birth process.
Birth history
Birth is arguably the most stressful event of a child's life. Even a relatively straightforward birth imposes enormous stresses on the baby, in particular on the head. This can have implications for the subsequent development of the brain and body.
After birth, there is still much growth and development yet to occur in the brain, and this can be delayed or impaired by restriction within the skull. For example, the area of the skull behind the ear and the subsequent growth and development of the temporal lobe of the brain underlying this may be compromised. This is the region that deals with language and word recognition, and is sometimes implicated in dyslexic children. Another example is recent medical research which shows that many children with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) appear to have restricted growth of the frontal area of the brain.
Early Diagnosis
Physical stresses respond more readily to treatment when the child is very young. Early treatment also reduces hindrances to growth and development of the brain, thus limiting the severity of any developing learning difficulty.
It is therefore important to be able to recognise characteristic early signs of a problem in the health, development and behaviour of a child as early as possible.
Effects of physical strain in a child- indications of retained birth stresses. There are usually indications in a child's history of retained birth stresses, which can contribute to learning difficulties:
As a baby
Babies with retained birth moulding display a number of common symptoms as a result of their discomfort:
Excessive crying, or an irritable baby who prefers being carried and needs to be rocked to sleep.
Feeding problems, a slow feeder with a weak sucking action, or a voracious feeder who constantly needed to suck. The baby often has a preferred feeding position.
Colic and excessive wind.
Disturbed sleep patterns, often a very light sleeper and waking frequently.
As a toddler
Mobility and play: The child may sit, crawl and walk early, seeking movement to relieve physical discomfort. The child may not become engrossed in play for any length of time, preferring to be on the move. This may contribute to poor concentration later on.
Sleep patterns often remain disturbed. They may be a light sleeper, often finding it difficult to drop off to sleep at night.
Behaviour is often at the difficult end of 'normal' toddler behaviour!
Teething may be particularly uncomfortable as the already stressed bony structure of the face resists the rapid changes necessary in the eruption of teeth.
Head banging or pulling at the head or hair is often an indicator of stresses within the head, and not simply a sign of frustration.
Childhood
A child who is physically uncomfortable may not complain of aches and pains. The stresses have probably been present since birth, and have become 'normal' for that child. They may be affected at a subtle level and display any or all of the following characteristics:
Behaviour may be volatile, in the same way that anyone who is feeling tense may overreact emotionally.
Illnesses. The child often has a depleted immune system and succumbs to many infections. Learning can be detrimentally affected by both a child feeling unwell and increased time lost from school. Retained birth moulding in the head restricts the development of the nasal sinuses and the ears. Such children are vulnerable to chronic ear infections and glue ear, with associated loss of hearing that can delay speech development and interfere with classroom learning. They are often habitual mouth breathers.
Physical signs. There may be asymmetries in the child's posture, such as holding the head on one side, or one shoulder being higher than the other. It may be easier for the child to turn to one side than the other. This has implications on the best seating position within the classroom, to facilitate activities such as watching the teacher, copying from the blackboard etc.
Physical discomforts. The child may complain of headaches, growing pains, stomach aches or other physical aches and pains.
Clumsiness, poor balance. The child may fall a lot, often seeming to bump the same part of their body (such as the head!).
Handwriting is laborious and often untidy.
Fatigue.
It is noticeable how similar these signs are to many of those classically associated with learning difficulties.
Gradual recognition of learning difficulties
Learning difficulties do not suddenly happen. Usually there are indications that a problem may be present from birth onwards. Early on the child may be able to overcome these difficulties, and seems to be reaching milestones. However, as demands are placed on him at school, it may become increasingly difficult for him to keep up with his peers. Eventually he falls behind, and a 'learning difficulty' is identified.
Osteopathic treatment
For best results, osteopathic treatment should be carried out as young as possible. Treatment is most effective before the age of 5 years, when there is still active growth of the head and brain.
After 5 years there is usually an improvement in physical well being and concentration, and teachers and parents often report that the children seem to find it easier to grasp concepts.
On average 4-6 treatments are required, but this varies according to the age of the child and the severity of the problem. The younger the child, the quicker birth stresses are to resolve with treatment.
Special needs
Many of the points above regarding children with learning difficulties also apply to children with special needs.
In Cerebral Palsy, for example, there has often been a traumatic event which has caused the condition. The physical tensions which result from a difficult birth or other trauma may be treatable osteopathically. So while it may not be possible to cure the underlying condition, improvements may be seen in a number of areas from physical comfort to co-ordination and neurological development.
In Down's Syndrome there are changes in the structure of the skull affecting breathing and drainage which may be improved with cranial osteopathy.
Cranial Osteopathy and Dentistry
Common links with:
Face pain
Headache
Migraine
Congested sinuses
Ear infections, blocked ears
Neck and back pain
Knee pain
Fatigue
Poor concentration
The importance of the relationship between cranial osteopathy and dentistry cannot be overstated. Conditions affecting the mouth and teeth have a very direct effect on the rest of the body.
The face is composed of a number of different bones. Some of these bones are very delicate, and they are intricately linked together in a very complex way.
All the bones of the face, like those in the rest of the skull, are free to move very minutely, which they do in a gentle rhythmical way. This movement between the bones is important in maintaining drainage of the sinuses, and permitting the free passage of air through the nose.
Trauma to the face may restrict the normal movement between the bones, and can have very wide reaching effects in the whole body. One of the most common causes of trauma is dental treatment.
Common (dental) causes of stress in the face
Extraction of teeth
Common Symptoms
Sinus and ear problems, headache, migraine, neck or lower back pain.
The immediate pain and tenderness after an extraction can mean that one side of the mouth cannot be used for chewing, thus creating an unequal bite with resultant strain on the rest of the face, head and neck. This situation can persist if there are gaps left between the teeth, particularly if more than one gap exists.
Dentures and plates
Common Symptoms
Headache, congested sinuses, ear problems, eye strain.
No back teeth
Occasionally people have all their back teeth removed leaving just the front incisors. If no dentures are worn, all biting and chewing is done on the front teeth. This places enormous strain on the structures of the head and neck. It almost always leads to a great deal of neck tension, causing headaches and neck pain.
Braces and Orthodontic work
Common Symptoms
Headache, clicking jaw, painful joints, irritability, reduced concentration, neck pain, lowered immunity and an increased vulnerability to musculoskeletal strains.
After the brace is removed
The stresses do not always dissipate, and are almost always palpable many years later in adults.
Osteopathic treatment is strongly recommended BEFORE the brace is fitted, to reduce the underlying stresses as much as possible. DURING the time the brace is being worn, occasional treatments to help the body accommodate the additional load reduces the secondary symptoms and also helps the teeth to move quicker. AFTER the brace is removed, osteopathic treatment to reduce its long term effects.
Bridges
Common Symptoms
The stress induced by a fixed midline bridge will highlight any area of weakness in the body. Symptoms can be almost anything including headache, sinus or ear problems, neck and back pain, even knee and foot pain.
Clicking Jaw
Pain and clicking in the temperomandibular joint (TMJ) is fairly common. There are many causes, one of which may be imbalances and stresses through the face or teeth, and osteopathic treatment can sometimes help.
Bruxism (grinding teeth)
Many people grind their teeth at night or clench their jaw when they are concentrating or under stress. In children, night grinding may be the result of pressure in the head or face from retained birth compression.
Common Symptoms
Tension, tenderness and irritability in the muscles of the face, head and neck.
How Can Osteopathic Treatment Help?
It may seem after reading this that any dental treatment should be avoided! This is definitely not the case, and much dental work is skilfully performed with the minimum of stress to the mechanics of the face. However, it does highlight the very important connection between stresses resulting from dental treatment, and the types of problems that osteopaths see. The wide subject of facial mechanics is a fascinating one which is often relevant to the patient's presenting symptoms.
Many of the above problems can be successfully treated osteopathically. Obviously if there is a dental problem that is consistently aggravating and causing stress, it is important to have this dealt with by a dentist.
Osteopathic techniques used to treat strains within the face are very gentle.
|
