Cranial Osteopathy
Cranial osteopathy is a gentle, safe and effective approach to treatment of a wide range of problems in the whole body. The technique is most commonly known to be used for babies and small children, however Osteopaths can use it for any patient.
Cranial osteopathy is not different to osteopathy. It is the name given to a subtle and refined approach to osteopathy that follows all the principles of osteopathy, and it is used throughout the body not just in the head. The name ‘cranial osteopathy’ simply refers to the fact that it includes the structures inside the head. It can also be called cranial sacral osteopathy or cranial sacral therapy. Cranial osteopaths use a highly developed sense of touch to feel subtle changes of tension and tissue quality in the living anatomy of the whole body, and to diagnose areas of strain or dysfunction. This allows a cranial osteopath to feel things on a deeper level than purely muscles and joints.
Using ‘cranial’ palpation Osteopaths are often drawn to areas in the body that have been affected by past events, such as old accidents and injuries. The body may have learned to compensate for a traumatic event or injury and the patient may be unaware that there is anything wrong, but the effects may still be present and relevant to the patient’s current symptoms./
It also offers a chance to access the emotional holding patterns of people; the body is like a giant tape recorder, recording the energy of what events have occured to that patient and how they have EMOTIONALLY RESPONDED to those events. Whatever has not been released is still there i.e. emotions can be part of the restriction. And this is true whether a cranial osteopath is palpating a two week old baby or an 40 year old working, tired, stressed Mother! Cranial Osteopaths work to activate the innate ability of the body to heal itself, and by offering gentle and specific support where it is needed to bring the tissues into a state of balance and release, to restore it to health.
The scope of what cranial osteopathy can treat is huge as it is so gentle:
| Babies | Growing Child | Adults |
|---|---|---|
| Collic Issues | Pain in the Body | Pain (Headaches, Back and Neck |
| Reflux | Headaches | Recurrent Stresses or Strains |
| Unhappy Distressed Babies | Development of the Spine | Recurrent Ill health |
| Flat Heads | Recovery From Falls | Emotional Tension |
| Torticolois | Ear infection and Sinus Issues | Pregnancy and Post Natal Pain |
| Only looking one away | Recurrent Illness | Last Resort issues |
| Issues with feeding | Behavioural Problems | Post Surgical Pain and Tensio |
| Autism Cerebral Palsy Epilepsy Dental Development | Post Accident Or Trauma |