Osteopathy and Colic
Colic can be hard to diagnose in a baby. However it is generally defined as symptoms lasting 3 hours a day, 3 days a week for 3 weeks. Symptoms vary but consist generally of crying and irritability which does not respond to soothing, possible signs of stomach upset or bloating, excessive wind, pulling the knees up close to the chest and pulling faces suggesting discomfort at the same time.
It usually begins in the first few weeks of life, peaks at 2 months and continues to 4 or 5 months, with exceptions which finish sooner or may continue for much longer. Colic is a diagnosis of exclusion and any other potential causes of pain or irritability should be ruled out before the diagnosis is confirmed.
The causes of the colic symptoms may vary which is why it is difficult to treat. There may be food sensitivities, musculo-skeletal structural disturbance or even poor care-giving. As a result there is no single clear-cut treatment which will resolve the problem. As in all osteopathic practice each case must be considered on its own.
Osteopathic evaluation may determine that there are strains through the thorax, abdomen or pelvis which could result in irritable bowel, constipation or food intolerance. There may also be dysfunction at the base of the skull affecting the major nerves supplying the gut area, which could in turn be aggravated by the development of the posterior cervical muscles, exacerbating tissue strains in the area.
Some colic may be more to do with generalised discomfort. This could result from mechanical strains during birth affecting the chest, neck or head and resulting in the equivalent of headaches and associated nausea.
Osteopathic treatment can help with all of these potential causes of colic, and in general does have good results. If a baby is taken for osteopathic assessment and treatment, expect lots of questions about the pregnancy and birth and even your own family history. Treatment is best carried out by a cranial osteopath with experience in treating babies and children. Cranial osteopathy is explained elsewhere, but it is a refined and gentle form of treatment for adults and children which achieves great results.
Typical case history.
Rachael brought James to the clinic when he was four weeks old because he had been unsettled and grumpy for two weeks. James was now miserable and hard to settle. He was being breast fed and sometimes straight after feeding or later between feeds he would start screaming, and pull his knees up to his chest and grimace. It was very hard to settle him when he was like this. Rachael wondered whether osteopathic treatment would help or even if it is worthwhile. Someone had said he might have colic but the doctor said he would grow out of it at four months and not to worry about it.
We advised her that although most babies do grow out of it, if it can be resolved sooner rather than later then the baby would be much happier which would mean that Rachael would be much happier and as an added bonus have more sleep too.
A full case history was taken and it revealed that the labour was long and James had become stuck for a while. A ventouse (suction cap) was used during the latter stages of labour to pull him out. It had left a mark on the top of James head. He seemed content but subdued. This continued for nearly two weeks and Rachael thought she had the perfect baby, but then James seemed to change and become much more agitated, difficult to settle and in pain. Bouts of crying increased in frequency and duration, which could be at any time but were worse in the late afternoon and evening.
A full neuromuscular exam did not reveal any abnormalities. An examination of the deeper tissues revealed a strain through the membranes around the diaphragm resulting in reduced movement through the ribcage, important because of the effect on the diaphragm and thence the oesophagus. This was probably due to the use of ventouse. The cranium had been elongated where the ventouse had been applied, and it had not settled back to its normal position yet, and there was a strain through the cervical spine (neck). Some of the bones in the skull were not moving as they would be expected to. The abdomen was hard and distended and the descending colon was impacted, contributing to constipation.
Treatment here needed to consider elements such as diaphragm function, muscle tension in the neck and alleviating constipation.
On the first visit the treatment was kept brief. Focus was on gentle massage of the small intestine to aid in relaxation, and to reduce abdominal spasm and pain. A short treatment can often produced significant results and in this case the frequency of vomiting and general distress was reduced.
At the following visit the abdomen was again gently massaged, and tension in the diaphragm and ribs was released. Tension in the muscles in the neck and at the base of the skull was also relaxed.
After this treatment James was hungry and drank a lot of milk. He was assessed by a health visitor and in two weeks had put on more weight than in a similar period previously. He was sleeping much better, including a 12 hour sleep which was his longest, and was refluxing and vomiting much less. On examination while there remained tension within the tissues, the abdomen was softer and he was no longer constipated.
Treatment continued for another four weeks until resolution was achieved and then James was seen monthly for checkups. Although the number of visits can vary, depending on response to treatment, severity of symptoms and environmental factors, this is a typical pattern of treatment and resolution.
 Return to Osteopathy articles index
|
