Could cranial osteopathy relieve distressing pain and pressure in babies and small children?
Dr Howard Lee investigates Cranial osteopathy is associated with the oldest known method of healing – the ‘laying on of hands’. Cranial osteopaths were originally labelled ‘quacks’ for stating that the bones of the skull should be slightly mobile to allow the contained structures to grow and develop normally – and permit treatments. The development of modern examination and diagnostic equipment has confirmed these early statements. Osteopathy originated from the belief that misaligned bones and improper joint functions were responsible for pain and disease – resulting from a change in circulating blood in the back – and led to the development of various techniques like ‘mobilisation, massage, gentle manipulation and stretching’. Such therapy works by restoring a necessary balance to structures of the skeleton, which, in turn, aids a return to a healthy function. Early experiments Cranial osteopathy was developed in the early 1900s by American osteopath William G Sutherland. He concentr
