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Sunday 8 September 2013

Adventures in Cranial Osteopathy

When Jamie was a baby, his head was a little misshapen. It seemed to be a little flat at the back.  We mentioned this to our doctor, and he told us that this was very common, and it was because Jamie was sleeping on his back, and his soft skull was moulding to fit the mattress.  This sounds worrying, but he assured us it was very common and Jamie would soon grow out of it. 

A friend however, told us that she had experienced something similar with her child, and that a cranial osteopath had helped, although it was quite expensive treatment.  I had never heard of cranial osteopathy, and had no opinion as to whether it was proper science or charlatan quackery, but by that point I was in the zone where I would pay anyhing for the slightest possibility that somebody could help Jamie with anything.  So we made an appointment.

The osteopath was a very nice young lady.  She seemed very professional, apart from the fact that she operated from a "clinic" in her parents' house.  It was a nice house however, and she had certificates on the wall, so that made up for it, I guess.

Over the course of several weeks, Jamie had his skull gently manipulated by this young lady.  Very gently in fact.  Sometimes she just appeared to be holding his head, and I wondered if she was doing anything at all. 

A couple of months and a dozen or so expensive sessions later, the osteopath told us that Jamie was a lot better now.  Looking at him, I was not so sure; his head still seemed rather flat at the back.  However, the osteopath had proof - she produced two photographs.  Putting down the first one on the table in front of us, she said "This is a picture I took of Jamie just before the first session."  We looked at the photo, and the misshaped head was clear to see.  Then she put down the second photo, and said "I took this photo last week, and you can see a clear improvement."  We both peered at the photo, looking for improvement, but not really seeing it.  There was an awkward silence.  All three of us stared at the pictures.  After a while, a furrow appeared on the osteopath's brow.  Then she blushed a little.  Eventually, she said "Hang on.  I've got those the wrong way round..."

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