Pediatric OMT at the DOC

Torticollis or "Wryneck"

In torticollis or "wryneck" a baby can only turn their head substantially in one direction. Sometimes there is a knot so severe in a child's neck muscles that it requires surgery to release, but most of the time it is a combination of musculoskeletal factors combining and limiting neck motion. The problem may be in the neck, but it may be somewhere else in the body. Osteopathic diagnosis and treatment can help diagnose and deliver appropriate treatment.

Breastfeeding Difficulty

Many times a newborn baby has difficulty breastfeeding. Often this results in a lactation consultant being called in, which is great. However, sometimes the nerves in the base of the babies skull are irritated from the delivery process and this results in the difficulty. Osteopathic diagnosis and treatment can help diagnose and deliver the appropriate treatment. Newborns may be born with a "tongue tie," which is a strip of tissue beneath the tongue to the bottom of the mouth. In an anterior tongue tie an in-office procedure may cut it, but a posterior tongue tie may respond to OMT. 

Visual Disturbances

One of my ophthalmologist colleagues has been sending me quite a few consultations due to visual disturbances identified in her patients. I have been amazed at the response to Osteopathic Cranial Manual Medicine and OMT in these patients. The 3 dimensional alignment of the bones of the skull create the anchoring points for eye motion. If the anchors create a shifted attachment for the eye muscles, then this makes it very difficult for the eyes to see the entire visual field. 

Aches and Pains of Childhood

Children fall down a lot. It doesn't matter if they are learning to walk, ride a bike, or play sports in how their injuries occur. Most of the time the human body has a cushion in the amount of injury that it can accept and bounce back from, but occasionally an injury results in a child having continued complaints. Sometimes the injuries can accumulate to result in them expressing their discomfort. Sometimes, they don't know how to express it and they just don't seem themselves. OMT is the gentle treatment that brings them back to themselves.