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. Cranial osteopaths treat the whole body not just the head.
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.
Osteopaths use their highly trained palpatory skills to detect areas of tension or restriction in the body, and to gently release them to restore a state of balance within the musculoskeletal system of the body.
What does treatment involve?
An Osteopath takes a detailed medical history from the patient followed by a careful examination. They 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. Patients often report an improvement in general well being, energy levels, sleep patterns and also in areas of symptoms other that those that brought them to the osteopath in the first place.