Osteopaths at Brighton Road Clinic are happy to help patients with any treatment listed above.

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. In addition childhood is a time of slips, trips, falls and scrapes, each of which can potentially impose a similar burden of stress.

Sciatica

Sciatica is caused by damage to one or more intervertebral discs which bulge causing compression of the sciatic nerve. This compression sends pain shooting down the leg on one side of the body, even as far as the foot. If, in the worst case, one of the nerve roots is irritated the condition can cause extreme pain, numbness and loss of muscle control. A damaged nerve root can take many weeks or even months to recover and, even then, residual numbness may take as long as a year or more to fully subside. Osteopaths treating sciatica will use very gentle techniques to address the bulging disc without irritating the nerve root. Experienced professionals will try to relieve any pressure on the root of the nerve, however this is an extremely delicate procedure as the treatment may risk exacerbating the underlying problem.