Osteopathy can help to alleviate many types of childhood problems often stemming from a traumatic birth process.
Paediatric osteopathy (including cranial osteopathy) is a gentle, non-invasive treatment that aims to find and maintain health, harnessing the body’s innate ability to heal. This involves gentle pressure to correct mechanical disturbances in and around the skull as well as the whole body.
Our osteopaths, Melissa Lodge B. Ost, MScPO and Allison Lalor BSc MHSc have undergone specialist training in paediatric osteopathy and are equipped to tackle a wide range of paediatric conditions.
Osteopathy is particularly effective with newborn babies, and is often of great benefit to your growing child/adolescent with all of the physical stresses and strains that come with growth and development. Not to mention all the bumps, bruises and falls of active toddlers and pre-schoolers!
Osteopathy and Pregnancy
Pregnancy and labour is perhaps the biggest physical challenge in a woman’s life.
Osteopathy can help the body to cope with the many stages of postural and physical change during pregnancy and help prepare the body for the birth process.
Importantly, postnatal care is often indicated to help a mother cope with the after effects of labour and challenges of looking after a newborn as well as older children. Feeding and caring for your baby as well as carrying heavy car seats and pushing/lifting prams often puts significant strain on a post-partum body.
OUR PAEDIATRICS TEAM:
Melissa Lodge B Ost MScPO Registered Osteopath
Melissa Lodge, B Ost, MScPO believes osteopathy can optimise the health of the whole family. Whilst she enjoys treating patients of all ages, Melissa has a special interest in the treatment of babies, children and women during pregnancy.
She believes passionately in the benefits of osteopathic treatment to ensure a child has the best start in life. She has experience in helping expectant mothers through the physical stresses and strains of pregnancy to prepare the body for labour and beyond, as well as treating newborns to resolve the physical stress of labour. She also strongly believes in providing osteopathic treatment for growing children to release tension and strain in the body which if unresolved can not only lead to aches and pains, but unsettled behaviour and sleep patterns as well as compromising general health.
She has been privileged to work with some of the most experienced Paediatric Osteopaths in the UK at the Osteopathic Centre for Children (www.fpo.org), a charity that treats children, from newborns to teenagers, for a wide variety of conditions. She also has experience of working in the children’s ward and with premature babies in the neonatal intensive care unit at North Middlesex and Barnet Hospitals, London, as part of the ‘flying osteopaths’ team with the Foundation for Paediatric Osteopathy.
Melissa has a Bachelor of Osteopathy with distinction from the British School of Osteopathy (2004). Her postgraduate qualifications include a Diploma in Classical Osteopathy (2006) and a Master’s of Science in Paediatric Osteopathy (2010). She is registered with the General Osteopathic Council (www.osteopathy.org.uk) and a member of the British Osteopathic Association (www.osteopathy.org).