Babies Children and Teenagers
Keeping Your Child Healthy
Every parent’s priority is to provide the best environment to support their child’s health as they develop and grow.Osteopathic practice is safe and effective. Research has shown that people trust their osteopath and are extremely satisfied by their experience of osteopathic care. This provides parents with confidence in the level of care their children can expect to receive.
It is never too early to treat a baby or child. Children’s requirements differ depending on the stage of their development. As they grow from infants, toddlers, children to teenagers, your osteopath will consider your child’s individual needs, age and stage of development, and adapt their advice and treatment accordingly.
Baby and Children’s Clinic
Helen Schlotel and Victoria Kent have completed specialist post graduate training in Paediatric Osteopathy. Helen and Victoria see babies and children of all ages, from newborns to teenagers, each Tuesday and Friday at the Wellbeing Clinic.
“After the first session, my baby was able to sleep for 4 hours straight and seemed so much more comfortable in her own body, which was a huge relief. After the second appointment she was a transformed baby. A huge relief for both of us! Huge thanks to Helen for her highly effective and gentle work”. Claire – mother
Osteopaths assess each patient as an individual. We are highly trained manual therapists and are taught the specific skills necessary to make such an assessment and to decide if osteopathic treatment is the appropriate course of action. As primary healthcare professionals we would always refer you back to your GP if we felt that osteopathic treatment was inappropriate and a medical opinion was required.
Osteopathy and Health
Osteopathy is concerned with that which has compromised health rather than the resulting condition. Osteopaths are trained to diagnose conventionally and also to use their hands to assess body function and dysfunction. Our emphasis is on correcting any dysfunction within the body structure, to encourage optimal functioning, which in turn supports the innate self-healing mechanism of each individual.
At Wellbeing Osteopaths we have all taken post-graduate study in paediatric osteopathy and have a particular interest in the cranial osteopathic techniques, which are part of the full range of safe and gentle techniques that osteopathy has to offer.
Osteopathy treats the individual rather than the condition. Osteopaths who are trained to treat children are very familiar with treating a moving or agitated child so there is no need to be concerned that your child won’t sit or lie still.
PREVENTION IS KEY
The osteopathic management of children of all ages is geared towards prevention. Our aim is to ensure that every aspect of growth is taking place appropriately, helping to resolve issues as they arise in order to encourage optimum health for a lifetime.
Osteopathy and Teenagers
Reasons for getting your TEENAGER checked by an osteopath
- Generalised aches and pains
- Neck and shoulder problems from studying, texting, carrying heavy bags etc
- Problems related to orthodontic appliances such as headaches, face, neck and back pain
- Minor sports injuries and tensions
- Headaches
- Digestive problems
- Inability to relax
Children go through massive changes during their teenage years not only physically but hormonally and emotionally too. Osteopathy can be very helpful during this stage of development. Sometimes the myriad of different connective tissues in the body e.g. muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia can struggle to keep pace with rapid growth spurts and postural changes or new restrictions imposed for example by orthodontic appliances.
This is also a time of big exams and the stress that accompanies them plus long hours of studying and possibly poor posture, sleep and eating habits which can often lead to problems such as poor digestion, neck and back pain and headaches.
Osteopaths treat individuals not conditions and will take time to look at all the factors contributing to a discomfort, strain or injury. Teenagers often find cranial treatment in particular very relaxing and often report that they sleep better after treatment. Also it sometimes helps to be able to talk openly to someone outside of the normal family and social environment.
