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Cerebral Palsy in Babies: Treating the Symptoms of Infantile Cerbral Palsy with CranioSacral Therapy.
Cerebral Palsy in Babies: When parents bring their babies to me for CranioSacral Therapy treatments - some are aware, or suspect, that their babies are starting to exhibit the symptoms associated with Cerebral Palsy.
Infantile Cerebral Palsy affects the correct functioning of your child’s motor system (movement and speech) and typically appears in a child before they are 3 years old.
This may be the result of:
Defects of the central nervous system
Intrauterine infections (meningitis or encephalis)
Oxygen deprivation
Strokes
Or trauma to brain tissue
Some parents bringing their babies and children for CranioSacral Therapy are not fully aware that cerebral palsy is not a specific disease but the name given to a set of symptoms.
When the palsy manifests as a stiffness or spasticity of muscle, Craniosacral Therapy works to correct and at least improve some of these symptoms.
In CST we work with the release of abnormal tension and restrictions in the dura mater which surrounds the spine and the sutures of the cranial vault. This brings more flexibility to the body’s muscles and freedom of movement to the bones of the head.
It is my experience that the earlier in life the baby receives craniosacral therapy for palsy the better the results.
Rachel's Story. At present I am treating baby Rachel. She suffered a brain infection - one of the key Cerebral Palsy Risk Factors - during the first 10 days after birth. Her mother brought her for Craniosacral Therapy as she is high risk for cerebral palsy and at the current age of 2 months her doctor is concerned that she may have a higher than normal muscle tone.
However, it is still too early to fully diagnose but her Mum wants to address this sooner rather than later.
During Rachel’s treatments I have worked on the coronal suture (area of head where you wear a headband) as this area is influential on the motor cortex. The motor cortex is responsible for sending messages to bring about voluntary muscles movement.
Another common area of dysfunction that required attention was the frontal bone (forehead). The sensory cortex (receives information from the body) is found under this bone and so releasing restrictions here allow for its optimum functioning.
I also work with any restrictions that I pick up along the length of her spine as tension in the head may also reflect in the body given that both areas are connected by the dural membrane (a tough membrane lining the skull and spinal cord).
