HEALTH [20.06.1999]
Head Start for new treatment
A new therapy which applies pressure to the skull may sound a bit daft, but it has produced some startling results, writes Brenda O'Hanlon, a convert herself.
Cranio what? Is the reaction of most people when you mention craniosacral osteopathy, a therapy which is relatively new to this country and which is now being provided by a small number of practitioners here.
Most descriptions of the therapy sound daft. How could applying pressure no greater than five grams (about the weight of a 20p coin) to the skull and to the spine possibly treat, or indeed cure, conditions as diverse as pregnancy related back pain, headaches, asthma, sinusitis, infant colic, digestive problems and glue ear? Daft as it sounds, this therapy actually does work for an astonishing number of people, although no responsible osteopath would promote it as a 'cure all'. The mechanics of the body's musculoskeletal system are far to complicated to merit that kind of pronouncement.
To understand the principals of craniosacral osteopathy, you must first understand what osteopathy is all about. Briefly, osteopaths hold to the common sense principal that a patient's history of illnesses and physical traumas is written in the bodies structure. It is the osteopath's highly developed sense of touch that allows them to feel the patients 'living anatomy'- shorthand for the body's flow of fluids, motion of tissues and musculoskeletal structural make up. An osteopath's function, as they see it, is to set the body up to heal itself. To restore this normal function, a cranially trained osteopath gently applies a precise amount of force to promote movement of the bodily fluids and release compressed bones, joints and tissues.
Does osteopathy work? Like any other treatment, it depends on lots of things, including how chronic the problem is and what caused it in the first place. This sceptical writer can attest to the efficacy of osteopathy for a fairly chronic back problem. It has proved to be by far the most effective of the plethora of treatments I have tried over a number of years. Those treatments included chiropractic and massage and all were given by recognised experts in their various disciplines. Many of those treatments work fine for other people-they just didn't work for me.
It is unlikely that osteopathy will ever cure my back condition, but it certainly makes daily living infinitely more pleasant. Activities like gardening and playing tennis vigorously used to cause me considerable discomfort. Now, they're a doddle. And, as for my working life, I know I would find ploughing through mountains of writing assignments impossible if I didn't have access to my regular osteopathy treatment sessions. So, now I'm something of a convert.
Word of mouth was what led me to it in the first place. I was recommended to an osteopath, who had treated someone I knew successfully. That personal recommendation reassured me because I regard much of the complimentary therapies area here in Ireland and the UK as fraught. The lack of public awareness about what constitutes proper training is a cause for serious concern and while patients do need to check practitioners' credentials, training and experience very carefully, many don't bother, or simply don't know how to go about it. In the case of osteopathy, there are no statutory regulations governing the profession in Ireland. Osteopaths say they would like to see legislation come into place sooner rather than later. Ideally, this would be similar to the kind of regulations which operate in the UK were legislation was introduced in 1993.
Although a small number of Irish GPs refer patients to osteopaths whom they consider to be properly qualified, the majority of people take a more informal route. Reports of the success are largely anecdotal, with friends referring friends for help. For example, the Osteopathic Centre for Children (based in London) treats 30,000 children a year for conditions ranging from colic, asthma and suckling difficulties to profound physical and mental handicaps.
Craniosacral osteopathy is a brand of osteopathy involving palpating the movement of the fluids around the spinal cord and the brain, and balancing the soft tissue and the skeletal structures of the spine and the pelvis. The technique is so gentle, so minimalist, sceptics must worry that they are wasting their time and their money and instead should be having their heads examined by a psychiatrist! But once you understand that the skull is made up of 26 interlocking bones, and that the membranes around those bones are in constant motion. You begin to understand the relevance of the osteopath working with that rhythm, which is a cyclical expansion and contraction of all the tissues in the body. It occurs eight to 18 times a minute. It is quite distinct from all other known body rhythms (i.e. heartbeat and breathing rate), and it can be felt in all parts of the body by practitioners with a very finely developed sense of touch. It was first documented academically in the early 1900s by Dr William Sutherland and it's existence was confirmed in a series of lab tests in the 1960s.
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There is much debate as to what causes the rhythm and why it is there. It has often been observed to continue foe a few minutes after the heart and breathing stops when someone dies, leading doctors to presume it is a movement of a very primitive or basic level of the body function. Some have compared it to the inherent movement of a single cell organism (e.g. amoebas), suggesting that cells of the body still behave individually, even though they are part of a far more complicated and organised organism.
In Australia, where they have had statutory regulation for over twenty years, osteopathy tends to enjoy a much more elevated status among the medical profession than it does here. Much of the reticence on the part of the Irish medical profession is born out of concern for the patient welfare and proper standards, and not because of any with to usurp the role of alternative therapy practitioners, or worries about ceding power and control to them.
Peter Parker and heather Cock are among a small number of osteopaths who do get referrals from GPs. Many of those who refer patients to them do so, partly because they are reassured about their specific qualifications - a degree in applied science (Clinical Science) and a degree in Osteopathic Science from the RMIT university in Melbourne, and partly because they take the trouble to spend some time with them explaining their treatment methods as well as illustrating how in their native Australia, osteopaths frequently work with GPs and frequently attend maternity hospital births at the request of the patients. Irrespective of whether they are treating women with pregnancy related back pain, or colicky sick babies the treatment process is the same. It comprises three 30 t0 45-minute sessions at weekly intervals.
"I would always expect some change after the first visit. The big thing we look for is results. If it hasn't worked after three visits, we don't waste people's time and money. We suggest other options, or refer them back to their doctor. During the sessions, we use the movement of the fluid to assess a person's vitality, their energy, the balance of different tissues, such as joint restriction, or fascial restriction. Basically, we assess all the tissues of the body by utilising that fluid. Throughout we use a very gentle touch," Peter Parker says.
"In pregnancy, a lot of changes occur in the body, both hormonally and in terms of the mechanical forces exerted on the back of the pelvis. When the baby starts to grow and takes up room. It can often push on nerve sensitive structures in the sacrum, the pelvis, or individual vertebrae. There's no real pattern to it. It really depends on the way the baby is forming. That can result in back pain of varying degrees of intensity. Likewise, if a parent complains that a child is colicky, you will usually find that during the birth process itself, there will have been an undue amount of pressure exerted on the occiput, (the large plate at the back of the baby's skull). Very often, that is caused by the position in which the baby entered the world. It can also be caused by the mother going into false labour or a very quick labour. Damage to the nerves which exit under the occiput and which in turn are linked to the tongue and to the digestive system, may result in the baby developing colic or suckling difficulties. Depending on how extensive the pressure is on the nerves we may be able to restore proper nerve functioning by manipulating the fluid that affects movement of the membranes both within and around the skull", he adds.
Further information
Peter Parker and Heater Cock practice at The Priory Clinic in Dublin (01-283-5566) - for information, email info@prioryclinic.com. Anyone interested in sourcing other specialists practitioners should contact the Irish Osteopathy Association at 091-589 417 or 01-288 6514
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Case History 1: Jane's Story
 Jane (35) is a first-time mother and works as a solicitor. She consulted Peter Parker early last year for lower back pain during the fifth month of her pregnancy. She had actually been suffering from back pain from the third month onwards, but had hesitated to do anything about it, fearful of a miscarriage or some other complication associated with hands-on treatment. As time went on, she began to find sitting in any one position for a long time so uncomfortable, it was beginning to seriously affect her work. She was irritable and tired a lot of the time and she really wasn't enjoying the pregnancy. Listening to a friend's enthusiastic description about the osteopathic treatment she had been given for her back pain finally spurred her into action. The friend had been treated by Peter Parker during her own pregnancy and she explained that his particular form of cranial osteopathy was a very gentle therapy. She would be lying still throughout. It would be terribly relaxing. She gave her some literature to read to overcome her misgivings about what Jane regarded as a complimentary therapy with very little scientific research work to back it up.
Meantime, Jane did some additional research on the Internet. Eventually, she overcame her scepticism to seek an individual consultation with Peter Parker. That lasted about an hour, with the first 15 minutes or so given over to explaining how the treatment worked. She then lay down on her back and for the next 45 minutes or so Peter Parker applied the lightest touches to her head, spine and pelvis. She had expected the therapy to be gentle, but reckoned this was verging on the ridiculous. Was she wasting her money? After the session, she had to admit she felt very relaxed, but wondered if it was just because she was taking time out from her busy day to relax and do nothing.
The turning point was two days later, when she had to admit that her back pain was "about 15% better and much less intense in nature". Sometimes it disappeared altogether and she could get a lot more work done. After three 45-minute sessions spaced one week apart, she had no back pain at all. She had a trouble-free delivery and her baby Jack, was born healthy. She returned to see Peter Parker five weeks after the birth for a check up, at which he verified that her pelvis had settled.
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Case History 2: Tom's and Alice's Story
 Tom and Alice are first-time parents in their early 30s. They set up their own marketing consultancy business two years ago. The business is going well but they have a huge mortgage and they are not yet at a stage where they can employ staff to ease the pressure, which, even on a quite day, is pretty intense.
They brought their daughter Sally to Peter Parker when she was five months old. By this time, their nerves were frazzled. They had had endless sleepless nights and it was beginning to have a serious effect on their daytime concentration. A number of people had commented gently that the baby's head had an odd shape, especially at the back. She had a peculiar habit of turning her head far more to the left than to the right. She would cry inconsolably for hours at a time and could suckle effectively on one breast only. She had colicky symptoms with every feed. While he was taking the case history, Peter Parker discovered that Alice had had a difficult birth. The delivery had exerted a degree of force on the occiput (the large skull plate that makes up the rear of the head). After examining the baby, he was convinced that the original force had put pressure on two nerves in particular- the hypoglossal nerve and the vagus nerve.
Within three visits, spaced one week apart, Alice reported that Sally was sleeping more soundly and "seemed more content in herself". She had begun to suckle evenly at each breast and seemed to have equal head movements. Two months after the first treatment began, the colic was resolved and she was taking solids without difficulty.
She is now eight months old and the shape of her head has normalised - at least to the extent that nobody ever passes much comment any more.
Further information
Peter Parker and Heater Cock practice at The Priory Clinic in Dublin (01-283-5566) - for information, email info@prioryclinic.com. Anyone interested in sourcing other specialists practitioners should contact the Irish Osteopathy Association at 091-589 417 or 01-288 6514
To visit the Priory Clinic website - click here.
To make an appointment email us at: info@prioryclinic.com
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