What is Colic and how can osteopathy help?
In medical terms colic is defined as, “Crying for more than three hours per day, for more than three days per week, for more than three weeks per month.” In other words, crying a lot. Not surprisingly, the infant is sometimes referred to as unsettled. But why are they unsettled? What are they crying about? Surely there is a reason?
There can be many reasons why a baby might cry: Wind; Reflux; Tiredness; Hunger; Nappy rash; Feeling poorly; Needing a cuddle; Intolerances; Allergies; Irritable skin - lots of things. Some, such as wind and reflux, are dealt with in other blogs. Here I want to look at causes related to intrauterine lie (how the baby was sitting in the womb) and labour and consider how cranial osteopathy might be able to help.
The intrauterine lie
When we think of pregnancy, we have an image of the baby happily floating around in the womb but this is not always the case. Sometimes they get stuck in funny positions, as mum’s with odd pregnancy related musculoskeletal pains will witness. Some are breach, bottom or feet down, instead of head down. Some are facing the wrong way. Some, often second or third babies, are logged low in the pelvis. All these, less than perfect positions, have an effect on skeletal growth and the child may emerge with a compressed neck, funny shaped head and face, squashed pelvis or contorted feet. None of these, in and of themselves, are a great threat to the baby’s health. They may, however, be uncomfortable or they may interfere with basic bodily functions, such as feeding or pooing, that then lead to discomfort. Discomfort, of whatever form, equals upset and crying. What cranial osteopathy does is look at the anatomy related to these awkward intrauterine positions and tries to put it right.
The labour
All labours are demanding. Even the easy ones. What is the colloquial description? Pooping out a melon? From the baby’s perspective they need be twisted, pushed and sometimes pulled down the uterine canal. They are better off if they are head first but they still have to present the smallest head circumference to the cervix or there’s trouble. Even then the bones of the head have to concertina to get the baby through. Then there is a quick twist to get the shoulders out and there are lights and cold (in comparison to the womb) and noise and people and the cords cut, and, and, and ---. What a commotion! No wonder they cry! And those are the easy ones. What about fast births or long labours culminating in forceps, ventouse, emergency caesarean sections and special tests? What about syntocinon, pethidine, epidurals or spinal blocks? Labour is demanding. Now most labours, however seemingly traumatic, rarely leave lasting damage but they may make the infant feel uncomfortable. Neck’s might be stiff, shoulders sore, ribs tight, heads bones out of place, pelvis’ off line. Even if these are not in and of themselves uncomfortable, as mentioned above, they may interfere with functions such as feeding and pooing that then cause upset. Again, what cranial osteopathy does is look at the related anatomy and biomechanics to try to solve the problem. The infant may also, of course, just be in shock. Here cranial osteopathy attempts to calm the nervous system and restore peace.
But how does cranial osteopathy actually do this? Let’s look at a few examples.
The compressed or “strong” neck.
For the first few weeks of life an infant’s neck should be floppy. Hence the advice to hold a baby’s head when moving them. “Strong” necks at birth are not, as many parents assume, a good thing. They suggest compression. Neck compression can be irritating in and of itself or it can interfere with breast feeding and lead to uncomfortable wind. The biomechanical story goes like this. Compressed necks prevent full mouth opening. Try it yourself. Tuck your chin in and try to open your mouth. It’s not easy. Infants who cannot open their mouths properly squash the nipple when breast feeding. This causes the mum pain, stress hormones block the let-down, the child becomes frantic because there is less/no milk, swallows lots of air, wind and upset follow. Cranial osteopathy tries to release the neck to solve the problem.
Distorted heads and faces
Distorted heads and faces may also create uncomfortable wind through poor breastfeeding mechanics. The muscles responsible for fixing the babies mouth to the breast, the seal, are attached to the bones of the neck, head and face. If these structures are misplaced then the muscles of the seal will not act efficiently. The seal will be weak, air will get in, wind and upset will result. Cranial osteopathy attempts to solve the problem by releasing the bones of the neck, head and face. It is hoped that, by so doing, the alignment and efficiency of the muscles of the seal will improve, air uptake will be curbed and the problematic, upsetting wind reduced.
The squashed pelvis
Squashed pelvis’ may cause discomfort by interfering with defecation (pooing). The container of the defecation apparatus, the lower gut, is the pelvis. If the pelvis is distorted by a breach presentation, for example, then faecal passage may be compromised either simply by the shape of the pelvis or the neurology of the lower gut. Again, cranial osteopathy tries to help by evoking change in the anatomy.
Contorted feet
Contorted ankles and feet or functional talipes rarely cause issues but the osteopath can demonstrate simple stretches that will help the deformation to resolve over time.
While not a cure-all, osteopathy with its in-depth understanding of structure and function, attempts to analysis and solve the biomechanical issues that may be at the heart of a colic picture.