Throughout infancy and childhood, growth and development takes place at a very rapid pace! Understandably, ensuring that your child is developing and growing optimally is a concern for many parents.
In this blog we’ll explore what paediatric osteopathy looks like, and how it can play a supportive role in nurturing your child’s growth and wellbeing.
What to expect with paediatric osteopathy 
At Bodywell, all of our practitioners who treat children under six years of age have undergone further education and training, and continue to regularly update our knowledge and skill sets.
As with all osteopathic care, the assessment, treatment, and ongoing management looks different for each child based on their individual needs. However you can generally expect the following to occur:
- We will ask a detailed history including your child’s presenting issue, details about your pregnancy and delivery, your child’s general health history, their routines, and their developmental skills.
- We will observe how your infant or child moves during play, as well as undertaking gentle movement tests to assess your child’s musculoskeletal system and their development.
- Gentle manual therapy that is age-appropriate and individually tailored to your child’s needs. This may include a range of techniques such as light massage and stretching, gentle joint range of motion, and osteopathy in the cranial field.
- Advice and strategies for parents & caregivers to do at home, such as positioning advice, stretching or mobility exercises, or strengthening exercises through play.
- Working alongside other health professionals to ensure a multidisciplinary approach to your child’s wellbeing. This may include communicating with and referring to a variety of other health professionals such as GP’s, maternal & child health nurses, paediatricians, lactation consultants, OT’s, speech pathologists, and more.
Reasons to see an osteopath
Our practitioners recognise the particular stresses on the body that babies may experience as they grow. Stresses and tensions associated with intrauterine position, labour & delivery injuries or strains including forceps or vacuum assisted birth, and rapid growth changes are just some of the potential contributing factors that may impede on an infant’s movement, growth, and development.
Some common reasons that osteopaths may see infants and toddlers include:
- Head and neck positional preference and torticollis
- Management and monitoring of plagiocephaly (flat head syndrome)
- Feeding and latching difficulties linked with jaw and mouth mechanics
- Dislike or difficulty with tummy time
- Sleep difficulties
- Limb movement differences such as only using one arm/hand to reach for toys
- Foot position issues such as positional talipes, metatarsus adductus, intoeing or tiptoe walking
- Delay of developmental skills including gross motor skills such as rolling, crawling, sitting, walking etc.
This list is certainly not all-inclusive; there are many ways that osteopathic treatment can be of benefit in supporting children. You can reach out to us via the contact details below to book your child in with one of our friendly osteopaths, or to have a chat with us for further information about how we can support your child’s individual needs.