What is osteopathy?

Osteopathy is a way of detecting and treating damaged parts of the body such as muscles, ligaments, nerves and joints. When the body is balanced and efficient, just like a well-tuned engine, it will function with the minimum of wear and tear, leaving more energy for living.

What is paediatric osteopathy?

Osteopaths who have undertaken a further two year's training and study, to specialise in treating babies and children, practise paediatric osteopathy. Just as a qualified doctor would train to be a paediatrician, ensuring a level of expertise appropriate to the patient, so those osteopaths who have undertaken this additional training are qualified to treat babies and children. On training and qualification, paediatric osteopaths receive their Diploma in Paediatric Osteopathy (DPO).

The treatment of babies and children inevitably needs to be very gentle, and paediatric osteopaths become expert in this, using manipulative techniques that are appropriate to small bodies. High-velocity thrusts, for example, sometimes necessary in adult work to realign the spine, are not used on babies and children.

How does it work?

Paediatric osteopathy is a very gentle manual technique that works to make sure that the body's framework is in alignment, allowing a good blood and nerve supply to internal organs, and relieving any tension in the muscles and bones that could be restricting this.

What qualifications should parents look for when finding an osteopath to treat their baby or child?

First of all, any osteopath should be trained and registered with the General Osteopathic Council (this is now a requirement by law) and have details of their qualification after their name. This will include B.Osteopathic Medicine, BSc Hons Osteopathic Medicine, B.Osteopathy, etc. depending on with which college they did their training. Osteopaths with 'Member of LCOM' after their name will also be qualified doctors.

For osteopaths who are qualified in paediatric osteopathy, this is a two-year post-graduate course leading to a Diploma in Paediatric Osteopathy, resulting in the letters DPO added after the original qualification.

What problems can paediatric osteopathy help with?

At the Osteopathic Centre for Children the paediatric osteopaths successfully treat a huge variety of common, and not so common childhood complaints from colic and sleeplessness, through to gastric reflux, recurrent infections like glue ear, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, allergies, and asthma.

What's the difference between cranial and paediatric osteopathy?

The term 'cranial osteopathy' is a bit of a misnomer because osteopathy is concerned with the arrangement and movement of the body, of which the head is only one part. Cranial osteopathy simply means the application of osteopathic treatment to the head. In the case of newborns and babies, the whole body must be treated for osteopathy to be effective - which is what paediatric osteopaths do.

Parent should also be aware that there are practitioners other than osteopaths who include 'cranial techniques', and these practitioners may have only limited training.

Can newborns be treated?

Yes. Around 80% of all newborns show some pattern of stress and strain that may have occurred before, during or soon after birth. At the OCC we recommend a postnatal check-up from a paediatric osteopath for all babies to relieve this.

For over 10 years paediatric osteopaths have been working with the premature babies in the neonatal intensive care unit at Barnet General Hospital in London, with babies born as young as 22 weeks. They need a lot of help with their breathing, for example, as they are so premature and our treatment has been found to help.

How can it help newborns?

Paediatric osteopathy can help prevent later problems like colic or sleeplessness, for example, which can be symptoms of internal tension. Newborns and babies are very responsive to treatment, and a check-up shortly after birth can be extremely beneficial as paediatric osteopaths can also pick up, diagnose and treat other problems that may cause difficulties at a later date.

Paediatric osteopathy is particularly relevant for babies where there has been intervention at birth. Often the reasons for this intervention existed in the womb, ie. the baby was breech, or there was a delayed second stage, so the baby is born having been affected by that was well as by the birth itself.

Can osteopathy help pregnant women?

Paediatric osteopaths are also trained to treat the baby before birth, and their pregnant mothers. Because osteopathy is a whole body treatment, we can balance the framework, improve the workings of the internal organs, and help relieve common pregnancy symptoms like headaches, nausea and backache in the mother. We also recommend that pregnant mothers have an osteopathic check-up in preparation for birth, as well as post-natally to help the body recover.

Can babies and children have paediatric osteopathy while receiving other treatments?

Yes. Paediatric osteopathy is possible even when a child is receiving other treatment. It can be complementary to a whole range of orthodox treatments.