Helmets are not used as widely in New Zealand as they are in the USA. This new research shows they are probably not worth the expense and stress caused to the parents and baby. Fortunately there is another way! It is gentle, effective and non traumatic for the baby and the parents. Cranial Osteopaths, who have had to complete a very thorough five years medical training at University then extensive postgraduate training, are usually able to help. These specially trained Osteopaths, gently work with the strains in the cranium, in particular assessing the occiput, temporal and sphenoid bones, along with any compressive strains in the neck bones, ligaments and neck and upper back musculature. I have been in practice since 1998 and probably due to the policy to sleep babies on the back and/or in-utero or birth strains, I have seen many babies with either a flat back of the head, or a torticollis which results in a parallelogram shaped head when viewed from the top. The torticollis is when the baby is able to turn their head more to one side than the other. It is usually caused by a cranial base strain combined with a bulging tightness in one of the SCM muscles and/or the scalene muscles of the neck. Sometimes a baby will not be able to turn their head at all to one side. They may have difficulty feeding on one side and without treatment the strain will persist and grow with the child. This results not only in a misshapen head but can result in neck and back problems as the child grows, especially in the adolescent years when growth is rapid. Treating these strains and resolving them fully is something I am passionate about so I have decided to post this so more parents will hopefully know about the benefits Cranial Osteopaths can offer. Please make sure you see a Registered Osteopath who has extra training in Cranial Osteopathy. If you ask your lead maternity carer or other mums you will usually get steered in the right direction. At City Osteopaths we have three cranial Osteopaths who are able to treat all these strains very well. Thanks for reading. Please feel free to comment or share if this has been useful. Melanie Young Reg Osteopath Director City Osteopaths
Posted on: Sun, 04 May 2014 07:00:18 +0000
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