Colic (The Sunday Times, 4 December 2005)

Printer friendly page


Q. My four-week old daughter cries inconsolably between 7pm and 11pm every night. She pulls up her legs and arches her back. My GP says she has colic but the colic medication has had no effect. I had a 26 hour labour and my daughter got stuck for 2 hours in the pushing stage - could the problems with the birth be responsible? I have been told that cranial osteopathy could help? If so, can you please recommend someone in London who you trust?



A. There are several pre-disposing factors for infantile colic, including mother’s diet, lactose intolerance, stress during pregnancy and the effects of pressure on the baby’s head from birth trauma. I would certainly highly recommend initially seeing an osteopath with specific experience in treating babies and children, who has undergone post-graduate training in cranial osteopathy. They will be able to assess if your daughter’s condition is suitable for osteopathic care and will also screen your baby for any signs and symptoms which may require referral back to your GP or pediatrician. If your baby daughter is suitable for treatment, the osteopath will gently assess the general condition of the baby and using a very gentle touch, assess the tone of the tissues, especially those of the pelvis, diaphragm and base of the skull. Commonly in colic there is a mild congestion around a nerve which exits the base of the skull and travels through the chest and diaphragm into the intestines. Experienced practitioners are adept at easing these tensions with an extremely subtle touch, and most parents report a positive benefit after two or three sessions, although the baby will often require several more sessions to fully resolve the problem. I refer patients and babies to an extremely gifted registered osteopath John Qureshi DO who specialises in cranial osteopathy and indeed, he treated my baby and me too! John has a London clinic at 1 Harley Street, for appointments call 020 7580 8116.



By using this website or any of it's information you are agreeing to these terms and conditions.