Cranial Osteopathy is very different from conventional Osteopathic treatment, it is an extremely gentle hands-on approach that is suitable for all age groups.
Osteopaths are taught a wide variety of treatment methods and techniques, ranging from the well-known ‘high velocity thrust’ with its dramatic clicks, to the very subtle yet intense functional methods used in Cranial work.
Accidents and impacts to the body may be absorbed at the time, but a lasting strain or restriction often remains plus illnesses and emotional traumas can block or disrupt this movement, potentially causing a wide variety of problems, not just in the joints and muscles but also, it is thought, with the deeper structures such as the ligaments, membranes and fluid systems.
During Cranial Osteopathic Treatment patients sometimes feel sensations of pressure, warmth or wave-like motion, either under the Osteopath’s hands or elsewhere in the body and as the tensions are gradually drawn out a very calm and relaxed state may be produced.
Some patient’s may consequently mistake this branch of Osteopathy as a form of healing or laying on of hands but the underlying rationale is science based and your Osteopath, who will have undergone an extensive course of pre/post-graduate training in Cranial assessment and treatment as well as in the associated complex anatomy, is still working on restrictions and blockages just like any structural Osteopath would.
Please do ask your Osteopath any questions you may have on this subject, any Osteopath using Cranial and especially any specialised Cranial Osteopath will be passionate about this very civilised approach to Osteopathic Care and will therefore be more than happy to discuss the whys and wherefores in detail.
Patients who have undergone a course of Cranial treatment often report less post treatment side effects than those who have undertaken a more structural approach plus they also commonly report an improvement in general well-being, energy levels and sleep patterns as well as their presenting complaints.
Cranial Treatment may be of particular benefit to those seeking an alternative to the more traditional physical approach due to pain levels, contra-indication concerns, personal choice or when an individuals’ resistance is at a low ebb. This particular style is often the treatment of choice for patients suffering from acute pain, headaches, neuralgia and sciatica, arthritic pain, tension and relaxation issues as well as circulatory and digestive disorders.
As with structural Osteopathy your practitioner will prescribe self-help methods to help you speed your recovery such as postural advice, hydrotherapy i.e. Cold Compresses or Hot and Cold Treatment as well as recommended levels of hydration, dietary and supplement advice, exercise program recommendations and healthy lifestyle information.
