Using Cranial Osteopathy To Ease Your Baby’s Suffering
If sleep disturbances, wind or feeding difficulties are making your lives as a new parent difficult and you have been unable to find the help and support you need to ease these uncomfortable stresses on both you and your baby, then cranial osteopathy could be the solution. If you have never considered using a cranial osteopath to treat your baby then let me reassure you that it is perfectly safe and can be very effective in resolving some of these aforementioned issues.
Cranial osteopathy is a subtle and refined kind of osteopathic treatment which encourages the release of stresses and tensions throughout the body, including the head. It is a gentle yet effective treatment that can be used on all people from birth to old age.
Birth is one of the most stressful events we experience in our lives, a baby’s body is subjected to immense pressure and strain as it passes through the birth canal. The soft bones in a baby’s head will bend and warp to reduce these stresses but many babies are born with an odd shaped head as a result of the birthing process. This can cause many uncomfortable stresses within the head and body.
Cranial osteopathy can help alleviate some of the stresses and strains caused by the birthing process. For example some babies may cry irritably because they feel pressure in the head, which is exacerbated by lying down, others may have feeding difficulties because of mechanical stresses through the head, face and throat.
A cranial osteopath will apply specific, light pressure where necessary to aid the body’s natural ability to release tension and stress. The baby is often very relaxed after the treatment and usually sleeps well – which may come as a welcome relief to the sleep starved parents!
If you are worried about your baby being disturbed, uncomfortable or irritable, especially at night or when feeding, it is definitely worth you contacting an osteopathic practice which specialises in cranial osteopathy, as they may well hold the key to restful sleep for you, your baby and your entire household.
If you want to find out more about cranial osteopathy why not visit our website where you can learn more about the benefits of using a cranial osteopath.
The Benefits Of Using An Osteopath Birmingham
There are many reasons why you may turn to osteopathy to relieve symptoms such as neckache, backache or headaches. Perhaps you have found that conventional medicine cannot help you or does little to ease your suffering or perhaps you favour the more holistic approach? Whatever the reason, there is much that your osteopath Birmingham can do to remove the pain and pressure that is causing you misery.
Osteopathy takes a holistic approach to healing and rather than concentrating solely on the specific area of the body in which you are experiencing discomfort, your Birmingham osteopath will treat the whole body. This is because osteopathy is based on the principal that the body functions best when it is correctly aligned. Another way to look at it is that if the structure of the body is corrected it can ease pain on the outside of the body as well as treating any illnesses inside the body.
Your osteopath Birmingham will use their highly developed sense of touch to help relieve your aches and pains. They will use their hands to locate the source of pain and through a variety of techniques will then manipulate, stretch and massage the affected area to relieve pain, reduce swelling and ease pain.
For many of us it is our lifestyle that will lead us to an osteopath. Putting in long hours at the office, hunched over in your chair, staring at a screen can lead to aches and pains, as can driving long distances, playing sports or doing vigorous housework, if you are so inclined!
There are also a number of specific conditions that can benefit from being treated by a Birmingham osteopath. For example, osteopathy can help to relieve back pain caused by sciatica, lumbago or muscle spasm. It can also ease ankle and foot sprains or shoulder strains brought on by participation in sporting activities. Sufferers of arthritis and osteoarthritis may also benefit from the ‘hands on’ approach of an osteopath, as would pregnant mothers or babies suffering from wind.
Whatever your ailment and however it was caused, if you are finding that prescription medication is not easing your pain, it is definitely worth giving your osteopath Birmingham a call. After all, you’ve got nothing to lose…except for the pain!
If you would like to find out more about using an osteopath Birmingham why not visit the Jeremy James website where you can learn all about the services on offer from this Birmingham osteopath.
Sciatica, What Is It?
Sciatica is the name given to any pain that is caused by irritation or compression of the sciatic nerve, usually coming from the bottom of the spine.
Sciatica can come on at any age, and is in fact most common in your 30’s. Often people who suffer from sciatica are active and involved with sports; knocks and falls can cause back strain and lead to sciatica. The way most people work, the long hours we spend in front of computer screens, often not well-positioned, driving, DIY, housework, even watching the telly can contribute towards sciatica.
The most common cause of sciatica is from a bulging disc in the lower spine, often called a “slipped disc”. As the disc bulges it presses on the sciatic nerve. There are other causes of sciatica as well, as there are other structures around the spine and hip that could cause irritation of the sciatic nerve.
Symptoms can be variable from quite mild to persistent and sometimes debilitating.
Symptoms include:-
- Buttock pain
- Shooting pain down the back of the leg
- Cramp in the calf
- Pins and needles in the thigh or even in the foot
- Sciatica is often accompanied by lower back pain.
There are many causes of leg pain. Another common cause is “referred pain” from the back which is not sciatica. Other things like muscular strains or hamstring tears or even a hip problem can mimic and be confused with sciatica, but needs to be treated differently. This is why it is essential to get an accurate diagnosis of your symptoms and pinpoint the exact cause of pain. An osteopath is qualified to provide an accurate diagnosis and devise a treatment plan to help you.
Osteopaths have a highly developed sense of touch and use their hands both to identify the source of pain and – with a variety of techniques – to manipulate, massage or stretch the affected area to help relieve pain, improve mobility or reduce swelling. The techniques are not painful and osteopathy is safe for all ages. The osteopath will also provide advice on exercises and prevention!
Screams and sleepless nights…from Switzerland to Solihull
For all you sleep deprived parents out there……I wanted to share our story with you.
When our son, Seb, arrived into the world three years ago, my husband and I thought our lives were over. He cried from morning to night and refused point blank to sleep unless he was cruising at high speed in his pushchair! The health visitors assured me it was just colic and constipation and told me to ply him with anything from Gripe water to Infacol to orange juice!
After seven weeks of no sleep, when my husband and I were ready to list Seb on Ebay (with no re-serve price!), I phoned my friend in desperation and she recommended we try taking him to see a cranial osteopath. We’d never heard of cranial osteopathy before, but were ready to try anything. It was then that we met Jeremy James, an osteopath based in Solihull, for the first time and we’ve never looked back!
After an initial assessment, Jeremy explained that due to a fast birth and the prolonged final stage of labour I experienced, the nerve that runs from the base of the skull to the stomach had become trapped, which was causing Seb’s bouts of stomach cramping and colic. After four treatments, using light cranial pressure techniques, he had transformed Seb into a calm, happy, little boy who, most importantly started to sleep in his cot from 7pm until 7am!
Three years on, we are now living in Zurich, Switzerland, and our second little boy, Henry, was born this summer. Sadly he seemed to want to be just like his big brother for week one and has also suffered with both dreadful colic and constipation. We took him to see a specialist here at the Children’s hospital in Zurich, who said his condition could be very serious indeed and we needed to book Henry in immediately for a barium x-ray and biopsy requiring full general anaesthetic. Understandably, we were extremely worried and feared the worst.
Having kept in touch with Jeremy, I decided to take Henry to see him on our recent trip back to the UK. He quickly identified that Henry’s problems were due to his pelvis being slightly out of alignment and his diaphragm being stressed, both as a result of another fast labour.
We decided to delay our flights back to Switzerland and to postpone the planned x-ray and operation. After four sessions, Jeremy has worked his wonders again and Henry is now a contented and happily ‘unconstipated’ little man, who narrowly escaped the surgeon’s knife! Jeremy has also treated me after having both children for postpartum shoulder and back pain. Needless to say, we can’t recommend Jeremy highly enough for both cranial and general osteopathy.
Jeremy has recently moved his practice to new premises at Solihull Osteopathic Practice which is located just a short walk from the main shopping area.
See his website:
www.jeremyjamesosteopath.co.uk for more details about cranial and general osteopathy.
Osteopathy for mums-to-be
Solihull mother-of-three Liza Wilson tells Diane Parkes how osteopathy took the pain out of pregnancy when she developed complications.
LIZA Wilson was 20 weeks into her pregnancy when she developed pain in her pelvis and lower back. But rather than live with it, she decided to seek help.
Liza visited osteopath Jeremy James at his practice in Solihull where regular sessions helped to alleviate some of the discomfort.
And 36-year-old Liza, whose baby Zoe is now three months old, advises any mother-to-be to seek help as soon as they experience problems, rather than just accepting it as part of being pregnant.
“There is so much information in books for pregnant women but I am not sure they have the time to read it all and we are not that body aware,” she says.
“There is a tendency just to accept all the aches and pains as part of pregnancy. But there is actually a lot that can be done to alleviate pain and discomfort.”
Liza and her husband Mark, aged 41, a partner and financial director, have two older children – Alexander, aged three, and Zachary, aged two.
But it was while carrying Zoe that Liza suffered her worst pain problems as she developed symphysis pubis dysfunction (SPD) in which the ligaments in the pelvic area over-relax during pregnancy, causing discomfort and pain.
Liza, a yoga teacher, already knew of Jeremy through her friends and students – and the fact that he specialised in osteopathy in pregnancy.
“It was when I was about 20 weeks pregnant and I was experiencing pain from SPD,” she says. “That was why I came to see Jeremy initially but I also had a lung infection which led me to lean forward quite a bit.
“I put on a lot more weight with Zoe and that caused lower back pain and I was getting a lot of stress and tension in my jaw.
“I noticed the difference with the third pregnancy. I think I overdid the yoga teaching and was also running around after two toddlers. Because I was often carrying them around, I was always lopsided. I never felt completely aligned.”
Which is where Jeremy was able to help. Regular osteopathic treatments helped him to improve that spinal alignment and alleviate pain and tension throughout the body.
“It really helped with pain relief, especially in the lower back,” says Liza, of Solihull. “I was constantly hunched over because of my lungs and was finding it difficult to sit properly, but my lower back really improved.
“After each session I just felt so much better and I would sleep better.”
After giving birth to Zoe, Liza returned for another appointment which she believes helped her SPD.
“After having Zachary I struggled a lot with my pelvis staying open for a few weeks, so after Zoe I thought it would take a while. I saw Jeremy about five weeks after having Zoe and my recovery was a lot faster.”
Liza has this advice for other mums who may be struggling with pain.
“There are a lot of benefits of osteopathy in pregnancy,” she says. “My message to any mums would be not to wait until the pain is too bad. Pregnant women don’t just have to put up with it, there is a lot that can be done for pain relief.”
Pregnancy can present the body with a whole number of problems which can be aided by osteopathy, says Jeremy, who earlier this month moved his Solihull Osteopathic Practice to new premises in Homer Road.
“Lower back pain, pelvic pain and SPD are concerns,” he says. “The weight of the baby and changes in posture can also cause pain in the shoulders and strain in the back.”
In many cases these problems are aggravated as the baby’s weight increases, but Jeremy says women should seek help as soon as they experience pain.
“Very often women assume the pain is a normal part of pregnancy but that is not the case,” he says. “The sooner they can have treatment the better. Not only can it help with pain relief but I can also give them exercises to do at home.”
James tailors the treatment for pregnancy.
“I use different techniques for pregnancy,” he says. “You need to adapt the techniques for pregnant women.”
An osteopath for 16 years, Jeremy trained with the British School of Osteopathy where he gained experience of working with issues surrounding pregnancy.
“They had an expectant mothers’ clinic every week so I had plenty of opportunities to work with real pregnant women,” he says. I never chose to specialise in it but it has developed in that way.
“Once you have a reputation for successfully treating pregnant women then it is word of mouth. Pregnant women share their experiences at places such as ante-natal classes and pass on your reputation.”
James, who also treats babies and offers cranial osteopathy for youngsters, adds that it is also a good idea for new mums to have a check-up with an osteopath a few weeks after birth.
“The body has been through the shock of birth and it is a good idea to check the alignment of the body and the spine.”
Solihull Osteopathic Practice, 29 Homer Road, Solihull. Contact 0121 705 4499.
* www.jeremyjamesosteopath.co.uk
