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Osteopathy for Children

We offer Cranial Osteopathy for babies and children at our clinic in Guildford, Surrey. Cranial Osteopathy is a gentle treatment and could help to soothe and relax your baby. Osteopathic techniques are suitable for children at all stages of development. As Osteopaths we adopt an evidence based approach and several studies have shown the benefit of Cranial Osteopathy for feeding difficulties and colic (see research below).

You might have been recommended to come and see us by a midwife, health visitor or friend. There might be a specific problem to assess or just an overall check up, to help give you peace of mind. Whatever the reason, our many years of experience and training in cranial osteopathy and paediatric care will ensure you are in safe hands.

We will carefully assess your baby for any stresses or strains which may be causing them discomfort. We ensure treatment is gentle and focused and work alongside local health visitors, midwives, lactation consultants and tongue-tie practitioners to help find the right help for you and your baby.

Your child is precious and you need to know you're trusting them in the hands of experienced, qualified professionals, Unlike many cranial osteopaths, our paediatric osteopaths have undergone rigorous training in paediatric care so you can be certain they are in expert, gentle hands.

 

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There is a growing body of evidence to support the effectiveness of cranial osteopathy in treating various different conditions in babies and children.

Westcott (2004) showed that cranial osteopathy was effective in the treatment of babies with breast feeding problems or sucking dysfunction. By treating and stresses around the babies head and jaw this showed a significant improvement in feeding.

Herzhaft-LeRoy et al (2017) looked at the efficacy of osteopathy for sucking difficulties and concluded that having cranial osteopathic treatment alongside lactation support is beneficial and safe

Lessard et al (2011) supported this study showing improvement of cranial asymmetries, more significantly in children younger than 6 months.

Kotzampaltiris et al (2009) also showed a significant improvement of babies who were suffering from excessive crying following osteopathic treatment. Excessive crying is also linked with infantile colic, which Hayden and Mullinger (2006) showed can be improved with osteopathic treatment.

Amiel-Tison and Soyez-Papiernik (2008) showed that cranial osteopathic treatment of children with cranial asymmetries (plagiocephaly) did significantly decrease the degree of asymmetry seen.

Accredited Tongue Tie Assessor and Infant Feeding Coach

All too commonly, new parents receive conflicting advice around whether or not their baby has a tongue-tie.

The current rates of parents being informed their baby is tongue-tied when in fact they are not is very high. Conversely, many parents are told that their baby is NOT tongue-tied when in fact they are! Confusing, isn’t it?

This is because the person looking at the baby is not experienced enough and/or lacks the relevant training in both infant feeding and tongue-tie to be making this judgment.

As accredited tongue tie assessor and infant feeding coach, Sally has supported hundreds of families through this confusing process. Whether your baby needs referral for a frenotomy or needs physical release work done instead (or alongside) you can be confident that your baby is in experienced hands when it comes to navigating your way through your feeding journey.

We can help with

Breastfeeding difficulties in relation to physical tension / plagiocephaly / neck and jaw tightness / muscular tension following tongue tie release

If your particular condition doesn’t appear on this list, just call us: 01483 789109

What to expect

 

  • We listen to why you have brought your little one to see us, and we ask lots of questions about your concerns. We also ask questions about the pregnancy, delivery and the mum’s health. The more information we have the better!

  • We gently examine your baby or child with you present, so your baby can sense you are there or younger child can hold your hand if they want to. With babies, the examination looks similar to what you may have seen at your doctors or health visitor’s appointment. With slightly older children we may ask them to copy some movements, such as touching their toes (we sometimes get parents involved with this to turn it into a fun game). Whilst they do this we can examine their joints and muscles to see where their problem is.

    Once we have discussed with you what we have seen, we then do a gentle cranial osteopathy examination.

  • Once we have finished a gentle cranial osteopathy examination, we discuss what we have found with you and whether we feel treatment may help. With some older children your osteopath may feel that other techniques may benefit your child alongside cranial osteopathy, but this will be discussed with you and your child so you are both happy with the treatment plan before we start treating.

  • Most babies and children react a lot quicker than adults. We generally recommend between 2 and 4 treatments depending on their symptoms, your type of pregnancy and their delivery. Occasionally for more complex presentations more sessions may be advised but this would be discussed with you after the examination, so you can decide if you would like to progress with treatment.

  • Cranial osteopathy is a very gentle and safe form of treatment. It is most commonly associated with treatment of babies, even though it is also used to treat older children and adults.

    Sometimes after treatment your baby may be a little unsettled, such as not sleeping or being grizzly for 24-48 hours. This is normally when they are getting accustomed to the changes happening in their bodies from their treatment. If you are at all worried that they are experiencing serious or unusual symptoms after treatment, you should contact us straight away for advice. However, most parents report their babies were like ‘little sleeping beauties’ and very relaxed for the first few days after treatment.

 
“Me and my children have been treated by Sally for as long as I can remember. She has a beautiful calm way about her and is simply brilliant with children. She is exceptionally knowledgeable and is definitely the go to osteopath for post birth body issues.”
— HESTER BARNES, GUILDFORD
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