- an osteopathic perspective
Young children have respiratory tract infections, they frequently have coughs, colds with very runny noses and some children have a mild post viral wheeze following a cough or cold.
Children can be very susceptible to runny noses and colds. Babies and toddlers that are teething have constant runny noses as teething (from an osteopathic perspective) seems to cause strain on the drainage through the face. This is partly due to the pressure on the membranes of the head caused as the teeth slowly break through the gums. Young children are also more susceptible to the colds and coughs picked up from siblings or nursery at this time. So teething, a real time of difficulty and discomfort for some little ones, is often accompanied by a runny nose, a snuffle and constant dribbling.
Some babies and children catch every little cough and cold going, have a mild post viral wheeze or tickly cough and may struggle to regain their former happy disposition following these.
If, for example, the head has suffered some compression due to being tightly packed in the womb or due to a long or difficult delivery, the bones of the skull may retain some compression or distortion of the bones that house the ears or the air sinuses. This may make a toddler or child more susceptible to recurrent ear or sinus infections. Facial bones may be compressed if a babe has been ‘back to back’ in the womb or if there has been a brow presentation or, occasionally, if forceps have been used.
Teething also puts strain on mucus drainage as the major face sinus develops in the maxillary bone – under your ‘cheek bones’ where the top teeth emerge – only around the time the back molar teeth are erupting. No wonder that that most toddlers with their small nasal passages have such problems with mucous drainage. Falls onto the face, braces and crowded teeth in older children can all add to the strains placed on the bones of the middle face and contribute to chronic nasal congestion and mouth breathing.
Unresolved misalignments of the head, neck and chest may be found in children. Gentle paediatric osteopathy may help resolve imbalances in the musculoskeletal framework. Releasing the collar bones, the ribs, the diaphragm and encouraging healthy movement of the chest muscles, improving drainage and circulation and improving the mobility of the spine is important for us all.
We believe that all parts of the body need to be in good alignment with each other and be able to move normally. We are working during treatment to improve blood supply, nutrition and lymphatic drainage to the whole body. We focus on reducing restrictions and distortions, releasing strains and encouraging movement within the cranium, the face and the whole body framework. We apply very light, focused pressure to help encourage the bones or compressed tissue to release. As restrictions release, we sense an improvement in how the body moves and works more harmoniously.
Treatment of children is usually undertaken by those of us with a post-graduate qualification in paediatric osteopathy. For more information about how osteopathy might be of benefit in this and other childhood problems, do call us.