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Our baby was a forceps delivery and has suffered with lots of symptoms that may apparantly be helped by cranial massage. Trying to find out as much as possible and you lot are pretty knowledgeable!!
Think I would go for a face-to-face consultation with a suitably qualified medical expert, rather than some STW telemedecine.
There was a recommendation on here last week to sedate a 7 month old with a drug that is potentially fatal for children under two, so I would treat the "knowledge" on here with caution!
good luck with it mate, sorry I can't really help apart from to bump the thread.
Cranial massage sounds a bit like snake oil to me. What are the symptoms exactly?
My son was born via c-section and although he slept (like a baby!) well, he screamed lots when he was awake and was always clutching his head.
A client of mine is a cranial osteopath and he suggested we tried cranial massage, as the c-section meant his skull was never squeezed through the birth canal and it may be out of alignment (same end result as forceps, but the opposite end of the scale I guess).
My wife took him when he was about 4 months old and said it was the most amazing thing she had ever seen - Tim appeared to hardly touch his skull, but he instantly seemed to relax and was like a different child after that, far more relaxed and generally happier.
She took him back for a second session and was told after that that he would be fine. He also spotted that she was holding herself funny (due to carrying a 2 year old on one hip whilst pushing the pram!) and did something to her back which worked a treat too!
I am the most cynical person in the world when it comes to stuff like this, but when it comes to your kid you'll try anything and this really does appear to work (or it did in our case at least).
Not sure where you are based, but this guy works in Mill Hill and Harley Street and my wife talks about him like he is the chosen one! From memory it was about £60 a session at Mill Hill and is the best £120 I have ever spent.
Email me if you want his details.
One of my children had it when he was about 3 months old. It turned a very fretful unsettled child into a calm little boy who slept very well. We took him 3 times over a period of about a month and I was to say the least sceptical but the effect was quite dramatic!
Interesting post....Do I know you at all Rob?
Anyhoo - We're expecting miniP in the new year, and go to NCT classes.
A lot of the stuff taught at these meetings are useful, even for those medically trained (we really don't know it all!). However, a few meets ago we had a talk from a 'cranio sacral therapist'.
Now, I'm open to most ideas, and please don't think I dismiss alternative medicine because:
a - The power of placebo is phenomenal
b - Massage/hot stones on your body feel lovely, and feeling lovely is lovely!
But....
I really wasn't so held by the Cranio-sacral therapists ideas to be honest! From what I understand, they hold your babies head in their hand and 'think the bones into place' in order to heal all that ails the baby. And she gave the impression it would 'heal':
Flat heads
Crying babies
Babies that won't feed...etc
Now, when we asked her what she actually does, she explained the above process, but couldn't explain how she moved the bones, which bones she moved, why the bones needed moving, etc etc...
I'm trained to understand anatomy and physiology of the human body, and if she had told me she [b]physically [/b]moves [b]bone X into position Y[/b] because it's pressing on [b]organ z[/b], then I would have accepted her theory and process, but still wanted to know more.
However, to suggest she moves bones via the power of thought is so highly improbable and outside the realms of current physical human powers, that I couldn't take her seriously.
The cost per session was about 25 quid, and she ended with 'I can't explain why or how it works, but it's worth a try and if it doesn't work you've got nothing to lose'. Now, you have £75 to lose as it's about 3 sessions per treatment, and that sort of response just doesn't cut it really!
My world is full of [b]evidence based treatments[/b] in order to remove the phrase 'give it a go, what have you got to lose', and at present the evidence base is lacking, and anecdotal stories of 'my child cried and now it doesn't' are as likely to be coincidental as they are related to the 'treatment'......
Now, If cranial osteopathy actively involves pushing and pulling the babe's head/neck, then by all means it may work, but for someone to suggest they can move bones simply by asking them to move into place with their thought, then that's lunacy I'm afraid!
DrP
Those of you who claim to have had success using this method - How did your behaviour change once they had been for this "therapy"?
DrP this doesn't sound the same at all as we experienced. This chap asked a lot of questions about the birth my wife's health etc, then carried out a series of massages on my sons head. The first time he calmly fell asleep while this was being done completely unheard of untill that point. There wasn't any mumbo jumbo psychic nonsense from what I recall.
if she had told me she physically moves bone X into position Y
can someone tell me how much movement is possible in the bones and at what point do the individual bones of the skull start to fuse together?
Plenty of movement available in babies heads - some are born with real 'cone heads', which resolves after weeks to months. Can't specifically remember when they fuse though.
Also I was offering an example that may not be specific to a newborn (take for example a disclocated shoulder - you really have to tug to get it back in place, but there is some [b]physical input[/b] and as such, a [b]result[/b]. You wouldn't get far in A+E waving your hands over someones popped shoulder 'wishing' it back into place, eh!)
Ed - yeah, I'm aware there are several types of therapy that all 'sound' similar but are vastly different, and from the sounds of it you may have had an osteopath/chiropractor, rather than a C-S therapist. If someone is physically massaging the bones/skin/muscles, then I've no doubt it will have some effect, and it may be long lasting (or not?), but I don't know enough about it to explain what it is they do (but it sounds like they do do something!)
DrP
Those of you who claim to have had success using this method - How did your behaviour change once they had been for this "therapy"?
That's another valid point - perhaps the 'result' is due to the calming influence the act of organising and paying for a therapist to fondle your baby, and as an outcome the parents are more relaxed and calmer. In order to disprove this idea there needs to be double blind placebo controlled trials, which to my knowledge there aren't!
DrP
Cranial osteopathy - a load of bunkum but IME and anecdotally it seems to work!
Ben Goldacre of bad science column fame thinks its a load of old mystical bollocks, and so do I.
Babies stop crying for lots of reasons, they had a poo, they had a drink, they get distracted, but none of these things cost twenty odd quid an hour...
Be aware that there are Cranial Osteopaths, and there are CS therapists; these are not one and the same! Registered Osteopaths have a 4 year Bsc degree in Osteopathy, which is based on in depth anatomy, physiology and orthopaedics.
They start off using structural, physical methods of manipulation and as their skills of fine palpation develop they are able to feel for tensions and stresses in cranial bones and underlying membranes. Not all osteopaths use cranial techniques, but some decide to develop this method of diagnosing and treating dysfunction in the body.
It is true that babies often grow out of colic symptoms by about three months, but many would benefit from an osteopathic assessment.
what drug was that kcr?
I am an Osteopath but don't use cranial techniques. A lot of the claims made for it's efficacy seem implausible to me - but I could envisage that the bones in a babies skull may compress one or more cranial nerves as they exit the skull, if the vagus nerve is affected this could impact on digestion. If you decide to give it a try make sure that the Osteopath you see has a particular interest in treating babies & is trained to do so. I am sure there are many in London, you could try the Osteopathic Centre for Children (where they train people) or Carina Petter at the Hale Clinic who teaches there.
able to feel for tensions and stresses in cranial bones
How do you recognise tension in a solid bone by feeling it through the scalp? How do you know if a bone in the skull is 'stressed'?
I genuinely would like to know. Are there any controlled and published studies anyone could point me at? I'm aware of the Meta Analysis published by British Columbia Office of Health Technology Assessment but it concluded that there was no measurable effect.. Is there any other evidence one way or the other? (bearing in mind a meta Analysis is an averaging out of the results of multiple studies).
absolutely go for it. osteopathy has nothing to do with some dark science or some bullshit. It's not wether you believe in it or not. It's about wether the osteophat can help you or not for this particular problem.
I go regularly due to a twisted pelvis following a bad fall on my bike just after having given birth and it's amazing. I know a lot of people who have taken their babies after the birth. It always helps.
However, don't go to the first one you find on the yellow pages, they are not all worth the same. Enquire, and go to someone reputable.