Ever so often I will have a treatment for my scoliosis which causes all sorts of imbalances in my body. Most of the time yoga is all I need but sometimes my body just needs a little more... I recently had a couple of cranial osteopathy treatments with Steve Bell at the Aston Clinic in New Malden which a had never tried before so it was really interesting to find out a bit more.
I went into the treatment not really knowing what to expect but I had heard that cranial osteopathy can be really beneficial for scoliosis!
In fact the only time I had ever heard about this type of treatment was when my daughter was 8 weeks old. She seemed really unsettled, never slept for more than 30 minutes during the day and had lots of tightness in her body (she always had clenched fists) so my cousin suggested this kind of treatment and it helped!
It's still kind of a mystery to me what the osteopath actually did as she just seemed to be holding my baby and touching her head. My daughter stopped crying immediately though so she must have felt something and her little fists magically opened after the treatment!
Read more here on Cranial Osteopathy for Mums & Babies
So what is Cranial Osteopathy?
I did a little bit of research on this subject because it seems that it's quite difficult to get a straight forward answer to this question (that's my German roots looking for an explanation!)
The definition that I found on the Osteopathic Alliance website is that "Osteopathy acknowledges that a living organism is a system that constantly renews, regenerates and reforms itself in order to maintain life and health." Disease, medical conditions and symptoms occur when the body as a system is out of balance. Osteopathy is concerned about what brought the system out of balance rather than just treating the symptoms.
I also love this explanation by Steve Bell:
"It's a fundamental principle within Osteopathy that the body has all the tools necessary to cure itself. Sometimes though, it needs to be given a nudge in the right direction to start the healing process. Osteopaths, in a sense, give the body that nudge."
Cranial osteopathy follows the same principles as osteopathy and it's actually used throughout the whole body, not just the head. "Cranial" refers to the fact that it includes the structures inside the head. Cranial osteopaths use a highly developed sense of touch to detect imbalances and subtle changes in tissue and tension.
Who can benefit from Cranial Osteopathy?
It's a very gentle and relaxing type of treatment which can be beneficial of people of all ages suffering from a wide range of conditions and symptoms for example:
- chronic stress
- insomnia
- infant colic and sleep problems
- chronic fatigue
- backache
- migraine
- dementia
just to name a few...
"I believe stress has a significant influence on anyone's health, whether we notice it or not."
Steve Bell, Cranial Osteopath at the Aston Clinic, Kingston
Steve's approach is very holistic and very thorough. He treated my body as a whole it seemed rather than just concentrating on the symptoms I mentioned. After the first treatment I felt lovely and relaxed and some of the tension I was feeling due to my scoliosis had definitely improved. He also gave me some very practical advice with techniques that I could do myself (or rather have my husband do them for me).
He explained to me that the treatment is about creating space and allowing for the body to move into that space and heal itself. Steve is very knowledgeable and very passionate about what he does. More importantly though he really listens, understands and has got a very warm, respectful and caring manner which I haven't found in many health practitioners in the past.
After the second session my pain I had been feeling in my arm for over a year had virtually disappeared! It did come back a couple of days after but not nearly as bad as it had been. I can't wait to go back for a third session.
