What is cranial osteopathy?

Cranial osteopathy is a very gentle and more subtle way of treating, it is safe and non-manipulative. This treatment is particularly suitable for babies since their skeletons are softer. I often use some of these techniques when treating pregnant women and elderly. Many patients prefer it because it is very gentle.

A recent survey of over 500 cranial osteopathy patients (Wilkinson et al, 2015) found that most of them were specifically seeking this kind of treatment. Patients of all ages were seen, with 13% babies under one year and 10% people over 70 years of age. Over half of patients had symptoms of less than six weeks duration while almost a third of patients had been suffering from their symptoms for more than three months. 45% of patients had already had some form of care from the NHS. Two-thirds of patients in the survey presented with musculo-skeletal aches and pains but there were also a range of other problems and some patients wanting preventative care.When compared to the general osteopathic population, numbers of treatments, symptom responses and adverse reaction rates were similar.

Adverse treatment reactions reported after cranial osteopathy were reported as appearing to be temporary (less than 48 hours) and typically involved fatigue or a mild exacerbation of symptoms such as pain or stiffness. If you are not sure whether osteopathy is suitable for your problem please call to discuss the symptoms in more details.

Reference: Wilkinson, J., Thomas, K., Freeman , J., & McKenna, B. (2015). Day to day practice of osteopaths using osteopathy in the cranial field who are affiliated with the Sutherland Cranial College of Osteopathy (SCCO): a national survey by means of a standardised data collection tool. International Journal of Osteopathic Medicine, 18 (1), 13-21.