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CranioSacral
Osteopathy
CranioSacral Osteopathy (CSO) is a gentle, non-invasive,
yet effective type of hands-on body treatment that is
helpful for infants and children as well as adults.
It is an assessment tool plus corrective and preventive
treatment.
A newborn CSO session can minimize or
eliminate the repercussions of difficult births and
help ensure good health for well babies. All babies
should receive newborn CSO evaluations and treatments
as soon as possible after birth. Children should continue
to receive CSO periodically throughout childhood as
they adapt to the process of growing up.
A Typical Session
Children rest on a massage table or in the therapist
or parent's lap. The therapist monitors the craniosacral
rhythm with his hands. He conducts other gentle assessments
and corrects the sources of pain and dysfunction using
gentle manipulative techniques. Sometimes children release
emotions or cry during treatments, but the techniques
do not hurt babies and children. Seldom does the pressure
exceed five grams (the weight of a nickel). The work
is gentle.
CSO treatment sets the stage for the
body to most efficiently use its own power to heal.
Most children find the sessions to be deeply relaxing.
Babies and children will often sleep for a longer stretch
than usual after a session. During a session, the therapist
adapts his technique to the attention span and needs
of the child.
Getting Born
During the birth process, the baby's head molds to fit
through the mother's pelvis. It is normal for the cranial
bones to override each other. After birth, these overrides
and other accommodations in the baby's skull should
not persist.
If they do not correct themselves, they can interfere
with proper cranial nerve function leading to colic,
breathing, swallowing, digestive or sensory-motor impairments
and more. Sometimes babies are injured in the birth
process. The injuries may be both physical and emotional.
CSO can address these injuries as well as the effects
of prolonged labor, vacuum extraction, forceps or cesarean
birth.
Difficult births
Few births are "easy" for either mother or
child; the mother's pelvis and pelvic floor have to
accommodate the turbulent passage of the infant, whilst
the infant is forcibly squeezed ( or more precisely
wrung ) out of the womb through the dilated cervix (
the entrance to and from the womb ) and then is subjected
to a series of twists and turns as it passes through
the birth canal to be ejected from the warm, comfortable
womb into the (relatively) harsh, cold, bright lighted
world.
This short journey is probably one of
the most difficult we ever encounter, but it was what
we were designed to do, and there are helpful measures
to ease the passage, such as flexibility of the bones
of the head, including their ability to overlap, and
maternal hormones that allow the pelvic ligaments to
give enough to widen the pelvic outlet width. Problems
can arise from this journey, but more usually they occur
if the overall plan is altered.
1st Stage Problems
( the period from the beginning of true labour to the
full dilatation of the cervix )
Often the strong contractions will begin
without enough cervical dilatation ( i.e the exit from
the womb isn't big enough for the babies head ); the
baby is forced, head downwards, onto the unyielding
cervix and pelvic bones;
The large forces produced by such repetitive movements
can not only traumatise the baby's soft, flexibly boned
head, but also cause the infant physiological and psychological
stress.
2nd Stage Problems
( the period from full dilatation of the cervix to birth
)
As the baby leaves the womb it enters
the birth canal where it has to undergo a number of
twists and turns before it finally arrives into the
world.
These twists and turns help to mould
the baby's head, but problems can occur if either the
baby's passage is too fast, when the head doesn't get
enough time to get properly moulded, or if it gets stuck
and it's too slow, the head and body can get squashed
and the baby can get very stressed.
Forceps and Ventouse
These delivery aids have particular problems associated
with them; with forceps often there is some degree of
compression and bruising of the soft boned infant head,
which can be very severe; with Ventouse ( vacuum ) extraction
there is often a traction distortion of the head which
can stretch the whole of the cranium in a way that nature
never intended.
Surgical Birth
Cesarean birth can be harder on babies than we imagine.
Cesarean-born babies have lower Apgar scores, more respiratory
distress, more abnormal neurological exams, and more
abnormal CSO assessments. They have more chronic middle
ear infections and other problems throughout childhood.
The birth process is more abrupt and potentially more
frightening than vaginal birth. Surgically born infants
have fewer quiet alert periods right after birth and
have less opportunity to share bonding time with their
mothers who may be drugged or recovering in another
room. CSOcan effectively address all of these things.
Caesarean delivery
Can present a number of problems;
1) If a normal delivery has been attempted, but not
successful, the baby will have already gone through
the problems associated with a difficult 1st stage
2) Caesarean sections produce a very sudden birth for
the baby, which can be very shocking; one moment they're
in the familiar comfort of the womb, the next they're
being pulled out into the bright clinically lit operating
room, whilst their mother (who is still supplying them
with oxygen, blood and hormones) is cut ( causing her
to produce the hormones of stress) and anaesthetised.
3) Caesarean's can also cause as many problems as a
difficult 2nd stage ; by missing out the natural process
that normally occurs as the baby passes through the
birth canal the head never gets correctly moulded.
Caesarean's are a life saving procedure ( although it
is thought that the dramatic increase in their numbers
in recent years is due to doctors fears of litigation
) but the problems outlined above can result in difficulties
after birth which can often be redressed.
Reasons to Treat a Child
Childbirth can mean an initial trauma for the newborn
baby, especially to the cranial region. Epidural anaesthesia
brings serenity to the mother, but can induce disturbances
in the baby that the practitioner will be able to detect.
In difficult cases where it was necessary to use forceps,
cupping devices or resuscitation, osteopathic treatment
becomes an indispensable aid to counteract the traumatism
inflicted upon the baby.
Children's bodies are malleable. They
can correct easily and quickly because they have spent
less time organizing themselves around their physical
and emotional restriction.
Left untreated, these restrictions can take more time
and effort to correct in adulthood, causing pain and
dysfunction in the interim.
It can help a wide variety of the conditions
that affect this age group, and is particularly useful
in, but not limited to, the treatment of the following:
Colic and other digestive problems; sleeplessness; crying/upset/whinging
babies; learning difficulties; persistent coughs and
colds; glue ear; hyperactivity:etc.
More Reasons…
Chronic Middle Ear Infections
Headaches
Learning Disabilities
Sensory Integration Problems
Trauma
Breastfeeding Difficulties
Autism
Developmental Delays
Chronic Pain
Difficult Mobility
ADD/ADHD
Cerebral Palsy
Genetic Disorders
Neurological Conditions
And More...
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