Reflux / Cranial Osteopathy

K

KatBoo

Registered User
my 3 week old daughter has all the symptoms of reflux (not confirmed by Doc, but her older brother had it when he was a tiny bub so I know what to look out for).

I was reading about cranial osteopathy / craniosacral therapy...has anyone had any success with this in the relief of reflux or colic / wind?

Thanks
K
 
I read about it too and am thinking of trying it. My baby has reflux and is on Zantac which keeps it pretty well under control. Except that it tastes terrible and we have a huge screaming episode when in the morning and evening when I have to give it to her. She gags, screams and trys to spit it out. Feels like child cruelty. I read a post on this site that someone had good success with the craniosacral therapy. Will be interested in any responses you get!
 
It didn't really make any difference for us for my sons reflux.
If your baby's stomach valve isn't working properly and they are having acid problems, a gentle manipulation therapy probably won't do much.
Putting him on Zantac was the only thing that helped with that.

My son was very sensitive and tense. He cried all the time for the first few months, and he was definatley calmer, and his body more relaxed after the sessions.
His joints and neck were very tight and restricted, and after 4 treatments he was much better.
So the therapy was worth it in that sense.

I can recomend Veronique Percebois at the Vitality Center, she is very honest about whether the treatment will be of any benefit.
Another friend went to her and she simply said her baby cries alot, but there isn't anything physically wrong, so the treatment wouldn't help.
 
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my daughter had reflux since birth, but the doctor said it wasn't serious enough for medication (as she was gaining weight properly), she just spit up her entire feed all the time. it wasn't until she was 2 years old (she was still vomiting often) that i brought her to the cranio-sacral therapist. after a few sessions, she doesn't vomit at all anymore, and i was kicking myself for not bringing her in as a baby.

i guess it can't hurt to try. then you can see if it really works for your baby.
 
I used a cranial osteopath for a different reason, so can't really help with the reflux, but I would say if you are going to do it, get to the osteopath whilst your baby is still young, as it is much easier for them to work on small babies than it is on a writhing toddler.
 
Thanks. I think I will give them a call. Like you say, it can't do any harm and if it makes her more comfortable then there are no reasons to not do it.

K
 
Jools.

would you mind sharing who/cranial osteopath you consult pls? Are you seeing results?

Tks

Rgds

e
 
Yes I saw Caroline Rhodes at the Body Group 10 Pottinger Street, Central-Telephone: 21677305.

Yes we saw results, especially with our second child. Number two and number three were treated by Caroline. Our second child was ventouse delivered, and the cranial osteopathy really helped with her head shaping. She also had a slight curving of the lower spine and this was also sorted out.

Our third one came out completely naturally and had the most beautiful round head. We had him treated, largely because the other two had had it, and also the birth experience is such a traumatic one, we felt that this gentle manipulation may help to ease his transition into the world.

Caroline also has other therapists that she employs to carry out the protocols. They are also excellent; one of the guys was actually so calming that I came out of the treatments feeling like he had been working on me as well.

I hope that helps.
 
Osteopathic Treatment of Reflux

Reflux is caused by a weakness of the muscle at the stomach which stops the food returning back up the esophagus. In adults this is normally strong and does it's job well, however in children it may take time to develop.

This muscle (sphincter) can be influenced by a number of factors.
i) Local weakness of the sphincter and the muscles around the sphincter
ii) Neurological - the nerve supply to muscle may be inefficient
iii) Postural - the position of the baby will influence the work load on the muscle

When a baby is born it goes through extreme stress to exit the birth canal and as a result many of it's tissues can become irritated. For example, at the base of the skull lies the Vagus nerve which directly influences the function of the digestive system. The Phrenic nerve which supplies the diaphragm (the muscle surrounding the sphincter) also is close to the head and the neck and may to become "locked" or irritated. These nevers may then prevent the sphincter from working properly.

There are many more factors involved but the job of the osteopath is to gently examine the infant and try and make a diagnosis which can take time and a little trial and error and therefore requires patience on the part of the parents.

For more information on the osteopathic treatment of children:
http://www.osteopath.co.il/babies-children.html

Best wishes,
Osteopath, Jerusalem, Israel
http://www.osteopath.co.il/home-eng.html
 
this is interesting - does anyone know when babies can start cranial sacral therapy?

And are there problems with C-section babies? if they didn't go through the birth canal ( and hence extreme stress) would they have problems with digestion?

My son absolutely hates fod and feeding - formula or solids, and I'm wondering if this may be something I can try.
 
I was shocked to learn that many cesarean babies are born with the help of forceps. I assumed (wrongly) that if the baby was born by cesarean that the doctor would simply pull the baby out with his hands. But apparently the cut can be smaller if the doctor uses forceps rather than his hands.

So even if the baby is born by scheduled cesarean it might be that he would benefit from osteopathic treatment because forceps deliveries can easily pull the neck muscles as well as affect the nerves going to the mouth and jaw - this can be a cause of feeding difficulties.
 
my daughter was born by c-section, and I had the same though about whether it was a 'stress' or not, so I called the Oesteopath to ask! She was great on the phone, and in my situation (twins) it was considered a 'stress' for them even before the birth. I took my bub along, and it was great. She still had the reflux until very recently (she's now 10-months), but it didn't really cause her any bother after those first few weeks. Out of the two of them, I would call her my 'angel' baby!
 
I heard about the forceps but didn't assume its needed for a C-section - I don't even know if in my case forceps was used. I guess it doesn't hurt to try CO then. it seems that whether by natural borth or C section babies suffer some kind of stress or "injury". Wonder what happen in those days before cranial osteopathy?
 
Babies can start as soon as they're born. The cranial osteopath who worked on my son in the UK, was 'working' on her own child in the delivery room. The pressure that is applied to the baby's skull is very light and therefore, they can be worked on from a very young age.
 
How many sessions did your second child need for the head shaping? My daughter was also delivered ventouse and the doc has told us it will get better within a month or so. She is 3+ weeks and its slightly better but not completely normal. Anyone else had babies through ventouse? Is the doc right about saying that the cephalhaematoma gets better on its own?



jools said:
Yes I saw Caroline Rhodes at the Body Group 10 Pottinger Street, Central-Telephone: 21677305.

Yes we saw results, especially with our second child. Number two and number three were treated by Caroline. Our second child was ventouse delivered, and the cranial osteopathy really helped with her head shaping. She also had a slight curving of the lower spine and this was also sorted out.

Our third one came out completely naturally and had the most beautiful round head. We had him treated, largely because the other two had had it, and also the birth experience is such a traumatic one, we felt that this gentle manipulation may help to ease his transition into the world.

Caroline also has other therapists that she employs to carry out the protocols. They are also excellent; one of the guys was actually so calming that I came out of the treatments feeling like he had been working on me as well.

I hope that helps.
Click to expand...
 
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When a child should have cranial osteopathy

There is no infant too young to be treated by an osteopath be it cranial osteopath or structural (the differences I will be happy to explain at a later date). In fact the younger the infant the easier it can be to treat since the mechanical effects of the birth trauma have not "set in". In some countries cranial osteopaths treat premature babies whilst they are still incubated.

for more information:
http://www.osteopath.co.il/babies-children.html

http://www.osteopath.co.il/home-eng.html
Best wishes,
Danny
 
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Matty said:
It didn't really make any difference for us for my sons reflux.
If your baby's stomach valve isn't working properly and they are having acid problems, a gentle manipulation therapy probably won't do much.
Putting him on Zantac was the only thing that helped with that.

My son was very sensitive and tense. He cried all the time for the first few months, and he was definatley calmer, and his body more relaxed after the sessions.
His joints and neck were very tight and restricted, and after 4 treatments he was much better.
So the therapy was worth it in that sense.

I can recomend Veronique Percebois at the Vitality Center, she is very honest about whether the treatment will be of any benefit.
Another friend went to her and she simply said her baby cries alot, but there isn't anything physically wrong, so the treatment wouldn't help.
Click to expand...

Hi Matty
I'm interested to go to Vitality Center and check out your recommended therapist. Would u be able to pass me Veronique's contacts for reference? Thanks!
 
Update :)

I got Craniosacral therapy done for my daughter (Due to her head being flat) from Charoline Rhodes at the Body group and I am very pleased with the results. I could see a difference within a few sessions, and now after about 15 sessions my daughter's head shape is beginning to look normal. For anyone in doubt I would advise just go for it sooner than later because its difficult to keep your baby still when they are a little older (As was the case with my daughter). I was advised by the Paedratician that her head shape would even out as she grew older but that just didn't seem to be happening even at 5 months. Thanks Jools for you suggestion :))
 
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