ADVICE RATING |
 5.00 (Highly recommend) from 9 votes (154 Visits) |
This is about my experience with cranial osteopathy. My daughter, Lily, has had ear infections pretty much since she was 3 months old. It’s been quite and ordeal… always having her on antibiotics, always having an upset baby. Thankfully, her pediatrician is very into new research, and open to
alternative types of medicine, and referred us to an Osteopath.
Osteopathy: a therapeutic system originally based upon the premise that manipulation of the muscles and bones to promote structural integrity could restore or preserve health: current osteopathic physicians use the diagnostic and therapeutic techniques of conventional medicine as well as manipulative measures. (Dictionary.com)
Risks of Chronic Ear infection: Delayed talking
Delayed walking
Hearing damage, or complete loss
Balance problems during ear infection, leading to falls
Asthma has been linked to repeated antibiotic use before age one
Pain
And of course… Parents who go crazy from all the crying! 
What the doctor did: From what I’ve been told by my doctors, cranial massage will reduce the need for surgery (getting tubes put in to drain the fluid) by about 50%. Sadly, we were in the 50% that it didn’t completely work for, but for the whole time that I had Lily going to her Osteopath, she only had one ear infection (in 8 months!!) and it cleared up WITHOUT antibiotics, and I really believe that it was because of the massages.
The actual procedure was really all very simple. After getting Lily used to the doctor (which took a couple sessions! Lol) all that the doctor would do is lay her down on a table and rub and manipulate the little bones right under her ears, her neck, and down her back. It was very much like going to the chiropractor. We would go once a week for a half an hour to an hour. The rubbing and moving of all those tiny little bones is supposed to help the fluid drain out of the middle ear, which is where most ear infections occure. The doctor even showed me how to do it, so I could do it at home instead of coming to see her 3 times a week!
I would really recommend talking to your doctor if you have a little one with chronic ear infections. Anything that has even a slight chance of saving them from surgery should be explored! And I know, in Canada, Osteopathy is a recognized form of medicine, so most insurance plans will cover it.
Univerity of Maryland Medical Center
HealthyChild.com
(December 2007) (
