Craniosacral Therapy (CST) is great for all ages!

Craniosacral Therapy (CST) is great for all ages!

A little introduction - 

CST is a light-touch form of bodywork that focuses on structures that surround the central nervous system. There are a series of contact points around the body that, with gentle pressure, can release tension and restrictions. People find CST to be very gentle and relaxing, and for those who do not respond well to deeper soft tissue therapy or traditional chiropractic adjustments, this is a great option. 

CST is very successful at treating a variety of conditions for infants and children. Infants are often referred to our office for CST for pre and post frenectomy care. 

Other reasons parents may seek CST for their children include: 

• colic 

• latching and feeding issues

• Torticollis

• arching/discomfort in the car seat

• reflux

• difficulty meeting motor milestones

Older children with sleep issues, bedwetting, anxiety and ADD/ADHD benefit from CST as well. 

CST is effective with wiggly kids! Some kids have difficulty sitting still and that's ok! It can be done while children are seated on the floor playing with toys, being held by a parent or if they feel relaxed enough to lie on the treatment table. 

Craniosacral therapy is currently being offered with Mallory (30 and 60 minute sessions) and as part of Dr. Brenda's chiropractic treatments.

Craniosacral therapy is one of our offerings for infants and kids.

How can chiropractic help infants with difficulty breastfeeding?

From the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics
October 2009

This is a case series of 114 infants who were diagnosed in a hospital or by a lactation consultant with breast feeding problems. These patients were referred to seek chiropractic care in addition to routine pediatric care.

The three most common diagnoses for why these infants were unable to breastfeed were:
-cervical posterior joint dysfunction
-temporomandibular joint imbalance (TMJ)
-inadequate suck reflex.

“Treatment was chiropractic therapy in addition to support given elsewhere.
All children showed some improvement with 78% being able to exclusively breastfeed after 2 to 5 treatments over a 2-week time period.”

Chiropractors are experts in diagnosing and treating disorders of the musculoskeletal and nervous systems - in this case series the most common issues being with the cervical spine and jaw. 

This article demonstrates the benefit of pediatric chiropractic care as a multidisciplinary approach to breastfeeding issues with a musculoskeletal cause. 

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmpt.2009.08.023

Why crawling is an important milestone for infant development:

Crawling on hands and knees (also called cross-cross crawling or cross crawling) requires limbs from opposite sides of the body to communicate with each other. This motion is vital to develop an area of the brain called the corpus callosum. It’s the portion of the brain that allows communication between the right and left hemispheres.

Cross crawling involves coordinated movements of eyes, ears, hands, feet and core muscles.

Cross crawling requires baby to move a limb to the opposite side of the body. This helps:

Low back strength to get ready to stand

Prepares ankles for flexion to get ready for waking

Begins spinal rotation

Strengthens hand-eye coordination

If baby is using other ways to crawl (scooting, using one foot/knee to push along, crab crawling, or rolling) they may be compensating for various reasons. It may be time to find a practitioner like a pediatric chiropractor who can help find ways to encourage cross crawling

Like

Comment