GC Osteopathy With appropriate training, care and judgement, the evidence supports the osteopathic care of children as a safe treatment approach so long as spinal manipulation is not used (research links: Koch 1998; Hayes 2006; Todd 2014).
Here are some of the problems with which children are brought to our clinic, and for those of you with a special eye for the research supporting what we offer, there is our ever-evolving Research Page, in addition to some references below.
Children
Middle Ear Infections (Glue Ear)
- At present the scientific evidence that osteopathy can help with middle ear infections is limited, and we strongly support further research.
Headaches and Migraines
- Osteopathy treats each person as a unique individual, and this is as true of children with headaches or migraines as it is of everyone and everything that comes to our clinic. Rather than a single technique or solution for all, it may be that drawing from a selection of gentle hands-on techniques may be more helpful for headaches and migraines. This appears to be supported by the feedback that we get in clinic, but we must emphasise that very little scientific research in this area has been conducted to date, and we think that doing more research is very important. Here is a preliminary research link: von Stülpnagel 2009
Recovery from Knocks and Falls
Asthma
- We don't offer a cure for asthma, but we may help to improve the mechanics of breathing. In our experience this may reduce the onset of an attack even when some of your normal triggers, such as exercise, change in temperature or allergy, are present. What this means is that when the trigger (e.g. an allergy) is present, you may not feel your chest tightening up as much, or as quickly, and so the sensation may not trip over into an actual attack. (Preliminary research link: Guiney 2005).
If your child has a problem not mentioned above, just give us a call and we will be happy to explain whether Osteopathy is right for you. As one of the Gold Coast's longest established Osteopathic Clinics, we take pride in helping people where we can, and knowing when we cannot! If we don't think that we can help you, we will tell you and refer you in the right direction.
