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Osteopathy for children

Osteopathy can help you at any age.

It is never too early or to late to have osteopathic treatments. Early treatments improves the results. Osteopathy can help to improve a large variety of symptoms. The following section will help you to have a better understanding of what osteopathy can do for children.

What is osteopathy?

Osteopathy is a sytem of manual treatment based on the principles that many problems, pain and lack of mobility that we suffer from come directly from the dysfunction of the skeleton and associated muscles.

Osteopathy considers the body as a single unit. Osteopaths do not treat individual symptoms but look at the entire body and aim to help the body back into its most efficient state

What techniques are used?

Osteopaths use gentle manipulations for the sole purpose of helping with or preventing structural body disorders.
These gentle manipulations are musculo-skeletal and myofascial, performed with our hands and always externally. To help with these structural disorders the direct or non direct manipulation and mobilisation are never forced.

Osteopaths make their diagnosis based on the relationships between the muscles, nerves, ligaments and joints.

Osteopaths work by using gentle manual techniques, ie with their hands and bodies to make changes to the patients body. Overall osteopathic treatment is very gentle and can quickly help to reduce pain and swelling and improve mobility.

Frequently asked questions

Is my baby too young for this kind of treatment?

Children of any age can benefit from osteopathy. It is never too early to start, and for the best results treatment should begin before the age of five. Early treatment reduces hindrances to growth and limits the severity of any developing learning difficulty.

Is osteopathy recognised as a way of treating babies and children?

Yes it is in many countries. Most private maternity units in the UK employ osteopaths to give assessments and resulting treatments, if needed, to the babies as soon as they are born. In France, Osteopathy has been recognised on the 25th of march 2007. Osteopaths are allowed to treat children. For babies under the age of 6 months, a medical certificate of non contra indication to osteopathy is required.

Is it safe?

In the right hands, yes it is very safe. The right hands include qualified and registered osteopaths who have completed continual professional development in the osteopathic treatment for children. All the participating osteopaths within O.S.T.E.O. are qualified, registered and have relevant experience in treating children.

Does osteopathy hurt?

No, treatments are painless. We use only gentle techniques and do not use force.

Could my child suffer an adverse reaction to osteopathy?

Often, after treatment, the baby or child is very relaxed and sleeps well. Others have a burst of energy, and then have a good night’s sleep. Occasionally children feel unsettled, but this is a temporary situation that happens when mechanical changes are occuring, and only lasts for a day or two.

How many sessions will I need?

That depends on the diagnosis and recovery time of your child. Generally children and babies recover much quicker than our adult patients.

Do I need to see my doctor before coming for an osteopathic treatment?

If your baby is less than 6 months old then you are required to bring a letter from your paedritician or généraliste to state that there are no known contraindications involved for your child to recieve osteopathic treatment.

Where can I find out more about osteopathy?

In English you’ll find more information by contacting the General Osteopathic Council GOsC.