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Osteopaths believe that health and illness are largely dependent upon the soundness and mechanical functioning of your body's bones, muscles, and joints. Because a lot of health problems are rooted in how we move and how our body works, osteopathy can help to treat a wide range of problems and for all ages:
* Skeletal and muscle pain
* Bad posture
* Pulled muscles
* Sports injuries
* Arthritis
* Sciatica
* Neuralgia
* Headaches
* Post operative recovery
* Whiplash
* Disabilities
* Flexibility
* Illness
* Fatigue
* Poor circulation
* Stress
An osteopath may use osteopathic manipulative therapy (OMT) to stimulate your body to heal. OMT includes manipulation, movements and stretches, techniques that work the joints, and painless high-velocity thrusts. Osteopaths believe that these techniques improve your immunity by loosening congested lymph nodes and increasing the movement of your body's natural antibodies; a bit like freeing up your blocked pipes!
Osteopathy should not be confused with chiropractics. Both therapies are based on the belief that health is rooted in the body's structure, but chiropractors focus on realigning your bones and joints, while osteopaths use more wide ranging medicinal tools as part of their treatment. These may include support products, other complementary therapies like acupressure or podiatry for example, conventional drugs or herbal remedies.
Cranial osteopathy is a precise and subtle type of osteopathic treatment that encourages the release of stresses and tensions throughout the body, including the head. It can be used on people of all ages but has shown success in treating:--
* Babies with colic
* Babies that won’t settle
* Babies with feeding difficulties
Tension in the body disrupts the cranial rhythm. Practitioners compare what the rhythm is doing to what they consider ideal. This shows them what stresses and strains the body is under at present, and what tensions it may be carrying as a result of its past history. It also gives them an insight into the overall condition of the body, for example if it is healthy, or stressed and tired.
When a baby is born, it experiences enormous pressures as it enters the birth canal, rotating from back to front, and finally emerging with the back of his head first. The sutures, or joins, in its skull are still flexible, and can slide over each other to accommodate the compression. These changes can persist after birth, sometimes leaving the baby uncomfortable. Nerves within the skull can be irritated, and the baby can become fractious as a result. The cranial osteopath aims to decompress the sutures, making the baby more comfortable and therefore more settled.
Very close to the occiput is a bony hole where the vagus nerve emerges travelling through the neck and chest to provide a nerve supply to part of the digestive system. Some cranial osteopaths believe that colic is related to compression of the vagus nerve. By treating this, the colic can also be relieved.
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