Recently a person did call to set an appointment but finally resigned because she found out the first session is not free! So, I guess it is important to explain in general what a first session is made for.

Of course it exists an administrative part, named “file opening”, the usual patients informations, filling the form makes it faster; then we ask some questions about the reason of the visit, unlike some professions they can be many reasons, we are holistic. Also your previous medical history, issues, medics, activities, surgeries, allergies, nutrition etc… Like Md’s that can show 80% of the problem and give an idear where to look and what to look for.

Then starts the first “hands on” session: here we test the different systems, no real recipe because everyone has he’s owm approach, techniques, but mainly what we look for is(are) the reason(s) why you are in that condition. We will start a first treatment, with adjustments, adapted to the system, mechanic, visceral, cranial, fasciae … one or several of them. No forehand expectations, the physiologic situation of the patient is our guidance. Re-test of course to see how it did react and as soon we feel the balance is reached, or the patient’s body doesn’t take more, we conclude the session with advices from all kinds, maybe exercises and refferals, and usually explain that the two first days can feel a bit rough, aftermath of the body’s reaction to the deep informations; and we offer a followup, timing depending of the issue of course. No protocol there, except concussions and sometimes babies, and very rarely more then one session a week.

Now you need to know that osteopathy is not restricted to you when you have an issue, it is actually mostly preventive. So, if you just want to have someone following you and doing the best to keep you healthy, osteopathy is definitively what you look for. For example, patients originary from countries where osteopathy is regulated, are used to find a therapist, open a file and then they come every three-four months to make a check-up; basically nothing to fix everytime but always some little adjustments to keep the body in a good balance. Other patients like to go for one monthly follow-up.

Give it a try, hope to see you soon, no minimal or maximal age required.

https://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/52168/title/Is-the-Interstitium-Really-a-New-Organ-/

That is possibly what will explain how our cranial, visceral,  fascial, vascular techniques and for sure the mechanic integration work. The interconnection of all the systems in the body can be related to that kind of “fluid” organ. If it can explain metastasis, the worst happening in our physiology, probably it shows the best, adaptation, our survival strength.

Certainly a lot to expect from that discovery, hopefully for the best.

Plagiocephalia is the distortion of the skull of the baby, been (in particular) characterized by an asymmetry of the cranium and the face. It can be caused by a stiff neck, congenital or acquired in the first days of life, but more often by an extended position on the back, the same side of the head contacting the mattress. This recommendation of the back position was strong because of the assumption of newborns sudden death by sleeping on the stomach. Actually it was proven that this sudden death is non idiopathic (it exists a known cause) and the positioning has no incidence, but that’s not our concern here.

Without treatment, it can evolve until the adulthood. Besides the aesthetics aspect, it causes distortions of the cranium and the face, what also deforms the jaw, with likely fatal influence on the occlusion, vision, hearing, suction, chewing, setting of the teeth, speaking. At the postural level, possible scoliosis, adaptive, but sometimes, unfortunately, compensatory, with different unwanted effects.

French studies demonstrated the outbreak of plagiocéphalie this last decade. Two Canadian studies showed that there were 46% babies concerned in 2013 vs 22% in 2004. More than twice within 10 years, figures are certainly similar in France, for information.

The recommendation of  the positioning on the back is obviously a major cause, worse with the use of certain gadgets (sic) like side blocks, head blocks, “cocooning” mattresses which creates a bigger constriction of the baby, the part of the skull resting on the mattress will be even more and longer restrained.

But there are solutions, prevention being the first purpose, of course.

For the severe cases, a helmet, moulded in the shape of the baby’s skull can be envisaged, but the efficiency is strongly questioned; it doesn’t really make sense to handle a compression with another, even bigger, compression.

Chiropractic, physiotherapy (kinésithérapie in France) are more particularly going to work on the posture of the neck, spine, hips.

Osteopathy is going to have an even more global approach, connecting with the previous techniques, adding cranio-sacral therapy, external and possibly endo-oral techniques. With always the same principles, “test – correction – re-test”; this to close the debate about professional trainings, we are not opposed, we are complementary.

The preventive part, what is also curative, concerns the recommendations of positioning. It is not invasive and in accordance with the parents, especially, because the main people involved.

Change frequently the position, for example on the back at night (not to strike the susceptibilities), but inverting the bed side of the head every other night. So, the access of the parents will be on an alternative side, the babies head turns generally to the side of the person approaching. The day, to alternate the position on the side is not a problem; a newborn cannot turn on his own on the stomach, from foetal position, and anyway, that stomach position, in presence of parents is not a big deal. Alternate the port of the baby from one arm to the other during feeding, or simply to carry for cuddles. The parental contact is anyway the best medication.

Plagiocephalia is not a fatality and not irreversible either. Generally speaking, to show a baby to an Osteopathic Manual Practitioner  (Ostéopathe for French people) for a check-up session, as it is for adults, will never harm. It will allow to see and feel if everything take space normally, from the embryological life to the development and growth; membranes, bones of the skull, the pond, the rhythms… And, in case of dysfunctions, digestive, sleep, postural, plagiocephalia for example, the professional can restore the required balances and refer objectively the patient to the specialized medical world if needed, while reassuring parents, worried about their possible responsibility in the future health of their child.

As crazy it seems, the following list summarizes what we need to be healthy, within our body limits.

1. Activity : everyday the equivalent of 20 to 30 minutes of low cardio, walking, yoga, meditation… and 3 times a week, or more, to bring your heart up to 80% of your maximal heart rate (220 – age), with or without interruptions.

2. Healthy food: Big debate, but to make it short, a diet as similar as what cavemen ate (hunting, gathering) is a good example: proteins; animal and/or vegetable; vegetables without limit, seasonal fruits (careful with the sugar) and nuts (except peanuts; they are a carbohydrate). Grains; starch in big moderation, rice (Asian or Indian better) is acceptable, moderation is the key again, dairy should not be in the picture. As for modern grains (wheat, corn, oat, whey) they have existed since agriculture, less then 10 000 years ago, and anthropologists found proof that the human physiology needs 40 to 70 000 years to adapt to a new nutrition; wheat for example has changed a lot in the last 50 years.

3. No smoking. Should we really explain?

4. Alcohol in moderation, a glass of wine (low in sulfites is better) is not a big deal, but be more careful with beer (as it is made from grains).

5. Avoid heavy metals in all forms at a high level. Some canned fish, dental filings, additives in some vaccines…

6. Avoid as much as possible all pollution. Not easy, especially living in a city, but physical activity helps to balance environmental toxins to a certain point.

7. Positive stress management. No recipe for that, everyone should be able to find a way not to only see the dark side of things. Staying away from judgemental criticism is positive but easier said then done. Then again, physical activity is a mood booster.

8. Having a healthy gut. Big debate, Hippocrates said 2 300 years ago that all diseases start in the gut. Many books and research explain relations between gut, neurological issues, autoimmune diseases, autism. For more in depth information, feel free to google “leaky gut” and “probiotics”.

9. Seven to nine hours of sleep. That is what our brain needs to recover, detox and let the memory areas manage the information collected throughout the day.

Hope this gave you some hints on how to improve your health little by little.