Osteopaths at Tenterden Natural Health Centre are happy to help patients with any treatment listed above.

Whiplash

Whiplash injuries are frequently the result of a road traffic injury. As a vehicle comes to a sudden stop the head is thrust backwards at great velocity like the end of a whip. Whilst associated with car accidents, whiplash can occur on fairground rides and even from a simple fall. The result may be damage to neck and back discs, joints, ligaments and nerves. The sensitivity of the neck is such that whiplash symptoms can effect all of the body both physically and psychologically. The osteopathic approach is to work these injuries very gently over a number of sessions to carefully treat the tissue and joints. Soft tissue massage techniques will be used to soften the muscle before gentle manipulaiton or articluation techniques are performed in an attempt to restore natural movement ranges.

Birth Trauma and accidents whilst a child

Psychiatrists and psychologists are well-known for stressing the importance in understanding what happens before a child is born, during the birth process and what happens in the early years. Cranial osteopaths have long recognised that the birthing process imposes enormous strain on babies, particularly if the birth is difficult or elongated. The baby's skull stretches to accomodate the narrow birth canal, but only gradually recovers its shape. After a difficult birth the process of "unmoulding" may be incomplete, leaving residual stress within the head and impacting on the nervous system. These stresses can give rise to various conditions such as colic, trapped wind, regurgitation, feeding difficulties and sleep problems. In addition childhood is a time of slips, trips, falls and scrapes, each of which can potentially impose a similar burden of stress.