Osteopathy
Cranial Osteopathy
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What is Cranial Osteopathy?

Cranial Osteopathy is a refined and subtle type of osteopathic treatment that uses very gentle manipulative pressure to encourage changes throughout the body, including the head.
It is extremely effective in treating a wide range of conditions in people of all ages, from birth to old age.

Why is Cranial Osteopathy different?

Osteopaths are taught a variety of methods and techniques, ranging from the well known ‘high velocity thrust’ with its dramatic clicks, to the very gently applied methods used by so called ‘cranial osteopaths’.
Osteopaths vary their treatment methods, depending on their own preference and individual patients’ problems.
‘Cranial Osteopath’ is the name by which osteopaths who work at the more gentle, subtle end of the spectrum of different treatment approaches, have become known.
Osteopaths may have different specialities including sports injuries, paediatrics, visceral (treating the internal organs of the body). Cranial Osteopathy embraces all of these.

‘Involuntary Motion’ in the body

Cranial Osteopaths are trained to feel a rhythmical expansion and contraction in all body tissues, including the head. This is called involuntary motion.
The skull is not simply a solid container for the brain. It is made up of 26 bones which are intricately joined in such a way that during the rhythmical cycle of involuntary motion, the skull can actually change shape very slightly to accommodate the normal involuntary motion of the brain inside.
Impacts to the head can block or disrupt this movement. This can cause a very wide variety of problems both in the head and elsewhere in the body.
Using involuntary motion in the tissues, osteopaths can feel whether a person is working in the best way and they are in an optimum state of health, or whether there is something preventing healthy movement of the tissues from occurring.

Accumulation of stress and strain in the body

Most of us have been exposed to physical trauma at some stage in our life. The body may have been able to absorb the effects an accident at the time, but a lasting strain often remains. Illnesses and emotional trauma can also leave a lasting physical effect.
Gradually the body may find it more and more difficult to cope with all these stresses, and symptoms may start to show.

For example:

When he is 6, James has a heavy fall out of a tree onto his bottom. He is bruised and sore for a few days, but soon forgets about it. Unknown to him, he still carries with him compressive strain in his sacrum and lumbar spine, and in the base of his skull.
At age 20, James then has a car accident in which he sustains a mild whiplash. All car accidents put enormous strain throughout the whole spine, and this adds to the existing strain from his fall as a child.
At age 30, when James is now also subjected to stress at work, he begins to develop headaches and a bit of backache.
He decides to consult an Osteopath. The Osteopath discovers that the top of the neck and base of the skull are compressed and immobile from the effects of the fall and car accident.
Treatment to release these retained strains restores the harmony of the body tissues, James is relieved of his headaches and backache, and also discovers that he has more energy, is sleeping better and coping better with the stress at work

What does treatment involve?

An Osteopath takes a detailed medical history from the patient followed by a careful examination. He/she will make a diagnosis of what is causing the symptoms, and try to put together the ‘story’ of why they have developed.
Using very subtle and gentle techniques, the accumulated stresses and strains in the body are gradually released.
The aim is to relieve the current symptoms and also improve the underlying health of the tissues as far as possible in order that they do not recur.
This type of treatment is suitable for everyone from newborn babies to the very elderly, being extremely gentle.

What does Cranial Treatment feel like?

Patients may feel sensations of pressure or warmth, either under the osteopaths hands or elsewhere Most patients feel that gradually the tension is being drawn out of their body and they become deeply relaxed.

Benefits of Treatment

Osteopathic treatment is aimed not only at the relief of symptoms, but towards helping the body function better in all respects.