Treating Asthma using Structural and Cranial Osteopathy (Adult or Child)
Unlike conventional medicine, osteopathy does not treat a condition with a label it sees a person who has certain aspects of their health compromised and function reduced. At Headstart Osteopathic Practice we look at the whole person and their history.
An osteopath must start somewhere - and the definition of asthma is a respiratory disease with inflammation of the bronchioles and mucus secretion causing reversible airway constriction, defined as non-specific hyperactivity of the tracheo-bronchial tree; resulting in bronchial constriction.
With regards to the osteopathic treatment approach, a fully effective respiratory cycle can be achieved by increasing the mobility of the thoracic cage and thoracic spine to allow for full excursion of the rib cage and lungs. Benefits have been attributed to several factors including a decrease in anxiety, autonomic nervous system changes that relax the airways and smooth muscle tone and mechanically improved chest wall biomechanics (i.e. the ability to breathe).
In almost all asthma sufferers, the spine between the neck and the bottom of the shoulder blades (scapula) will be very tight and this means that it restricts the mobility of the spine and rib cage but also affects the sympathetic nervous system. The junction boxes for the nerve supply to the lungs and other viscera lie immediately anterior (to the front of) the spine on each side, near the ribs. If the spine is not moving the junction boxes get stuck and do not do their job, reducing the nerve supply to the lungs. Not helpful.
It is also important to have optimal function of pulmonary lymphatics to maintain fluid balance. This means that the lymph channels through which the waste of the body is transferred must be mobile and allow the lymph to flow. This is enhanced by an osteopath by pumping the chest wall at the front and ensuring that muscle tension is reduced especially at the neck and shoulders with deep massage.
An important nerve, the vagus, leaves the head and travels through the neck to give another neural supply to the lungs. If this nerve is compromised by restrictions in the spine in the neck or by tight muscles at the base of the skull it will also cause reduced functioning of the lungs and bronchus, the airway from the mouth to the lungs. So the osteopath must make sure that the neck is freely mobile and that there is no muscle tension by using massage.
It is also necessary for an osteopath to assess the diaphragm, the muscle at the base of the rib cage which is the driving force for the operation of the lungs, and ensure that it is able to function fully. An osteopath will also look at the bones of the face and skull. The face and skull are made up of many different bones, not just one solid lump, and each bone has a particular movement it should make. The bones can become stuck, and if they do then breathing is compromised, the quality of the air taken in is reduced and asthma is made worse. We would help the bony mobility to improve, especially the ethmoid, at the top of the nose, to move normally so help breathing mechanics.
If the patient was a young child an osteopath would mainly use cranial osteopathic techniques, which are very light in their touch but powerful in effect, but can also be as effective for adults. One of the most important elements would be to ensure the fluid exchange systems within the body are working at their best.
An osteopath may also discuss other ways of treatment, considering diet and nutrition, controlled breathing techniques such as the Butyeko method, and very importantly environmental considerations for the removal of triggers, which can be many and varied.
In summary the osteopathy’s aim and benefits are to increase vital capacity and rib cage mobility, decrease the negative effect of somato-visceral reflexes, improve diaphragmatic function and enhance the clearing of airway secretions and increase immune function.
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