Paediatric / Pediatric Osteopathy The treatment of babies and children by Osteopaths is nothing new and is rapidly developing into a high specialised area of Osteopathy. Indeed the accredited founder of Osteopathic Medicine, Dr Andrew Still, an allopathic Dr over 100 years ago claims that it was because of serious children’s illnesses that caused him to look and find a better way of treating them.
Much has changed over 100 years and today the modern paediatric osteopath is highly trained with extensive post graduate training in the field. Some may possess MSc degrees whilst others put “the hours in” in specialist clinics under supervision with an expert. I am one of the later who was so lucky that in my training at the London Osteopathic Centre for Children (OCC), I was supervised by the 2 greatest Osteopaths of this decade, Peter Armitage and Stuart Korth. My time at the OCC was a magical time of learning and of seeing such rare and severe cases that wouldn’t normally present in private practice and they were usually substantially helped.
Whilst many have preconceived ideas of Osteopathy for adults few, unless their children have experienced it, have any notion of what paediatric osteopathy is yet alone why it is a speciality! The physiology, anatomy and developmental neurology differs greatly from a pre-term baby, a baby, a toddler, a child to a teenager; and as these differences exist so a totally different set of protocols and osteopathic treatment strategies exist for their effective care.
In understanding what the paediatric osteopath is attempting to do we need to start with an understanding of embryology and accept that within every cell there is DNA which contains the “coding”, rather like computer software, which will dictate how the cells divide, multiply and change. Driving this cellular activity are epigenetic forces, or simply life / health, without it we die! The cells multiply, and a foetus develops, a baby appears and at almost identically preordained time frame each child will develop physically, emotionally and functionally in almost exactly the same way.
When there is illness, injury or dysfunction the child’s inner self / driving force / epigenetic forces will try to steer its body back to health according to the original blueprint / coding / DNA software that exists deep within every cell. A simple example of this is that when you cut yourself and it bleeds a complex mechanism within is unleashed that allows the wound to heal within weeks without leaving a trace, why? Because within the totality of all the cells there is a driving force or even a wisdom that will be seeking health. This underpins both allopathic, osteopathic and most alternative forms of medicine as a basic principle and yet it is quietly ignored by those who wish to explain everything in “scientific terms”!
So an osteopath who is presented with a 2 week old baby who has been screaming non stop since birth, who isn’t sleeping and is feeding irregularly will not be phased if they have specialist paediatric training. The osteopath will want to know details about the mother’s pregnancy, the birth and how the child is adapting to life on the outside. Obviously nutritional deficiencies, infections, metabolic disorders and neurological damage are extremely important pieces of data in determining how the baby is best treated. In the vast majority of cases the baby’s blood gasses or normal, their urine is clear, their pH normal but yet they scream.
So consider that this baby was the result of an emergency caesarian section after the mother developed preeclampsia, dangerously high blood pressure, without a section both the baby and mother could die. Therefore it was necessary and both are alive, but the baby is still screaming! The osteopath will recognise that this otherwise healthy baby has not undergone the birth process which is very necessary to prepare it for life on the outside world. A vaginal delivery is necessary to squeeze the baby, to expel all the amniotic fluid from its lungs, to stretch the limbs and spine which have been in a foetal position for 10 months, to stimulate the baby to breathe for itself and numerous other functions but effectively its all part of a switching on process for independent life. This baby will not have been completely switched on, though in most they do spontaneously and are ok, but in those that don’t this is where the role of the osteopath is vital.
Those babies born with the cord round their neck, ventouse, forceps, breach or in many cases a perfectly normal delivery that simply it has not been able to cope with and becomes stressed. In more severe cases where there are extreme cases the birth trauma is considered severe. All these factors have relevance for the developing child over the next 18 years into adulthood as they are growing and developing. “If the twig is bent so grows the tree”.
The paediatric osteopath with his knowledge of where the baby is dysfunctioning, be it spasm in the psoas muscles in the abdomen, blocking of the tiny spinal segments, reflex shock within the central nervous system, it all has a characteristic feel or palpable quality. Recognition of this “palpable quality” is the main identification of the osteopath. We take many years of training and a lifetime of experience in training our hands to listen to the qualities of the individual tissues and bodily fluids and to recognise the different quality of the “feel” in health and illness. Within the child it is different still, a new born baby has a totally different quality of feel compared to a child of 6 months old and it is down to how the central nervous system expresses itself within.
If you compare how the orchestra conductor can hear a particular note played out of tune on one individual violin in a hall of 90 musicians or how a master craftsman can develop such an empathetic skill with the wooden he is working you can understand how the skill of palpation can develop over time in the osteopath.
In treating a child the osteopath will first have a “medical diagnosis” based on the case and his physical findings and then he will palpate and find the areas of stress or dysfunction within the body that is preventing normal function. He listens to the health or effectively what the body is trying to do to resolve the problem or impediment to health returning. By listening he can then assist by gentle corrective movements or positioning or in many cases just supporting can achieve enormous therapeutic effects. Once any blockage is removed then the original cellular blueprint can be reactivated provided the motive power within is sufficient. Mother Nature really knows better than anyone and given the ideal circumstances she will prevail.
Where there has been injury or where the blueprint has been corrupted and return to normality can not be achieved because it never could then pother strategies exist. But the work of the amazing Professor Pavel Kolar of the Prague School of Rehabilitation is outside the scope of this intel.
In actually watching the osteopath work the parent may see him do nothing more than simply holding the child in different areas, the head and pelvis usually , and occasionally some movement may be perceptible. But generally it is quiet, still and the baby will often fall asleep during treatment. We do not use heavy joint cracking manipulation on children and our approach is very safe and effective.
Most of the babies that come to see me have a history of birth trauma and they may present with inconsolable crying, colic, reflux, stiffness, irritability, excessive positing, constipation, torticollis, an inability to sleep and generally they are miserable. When we can help we do and when the child needs further help with another specialist we will refer them on appropriately.
Babies are wonderful and it is a fantastic gift to help them when they are suffering.
