Osteopathy for Babies and Children in East London
Osteopathy for Babies and Children in East London
Our osteopaths at Fix East Village see babies, children and teenagers alongside the adults in the family. Every practitioner is registered with the General Osteopathic Council, and the hands-on approach is adapted to the age, size and stage of the child in front of us.
Appointments are relaxed and family friendly. You stay with your child throughout, there is space for a pram, and you are welcome to feed, change or settle your baby at any point during the session.
What Osteopathy for Children Involves
Osteopathy is a statutorily regulated manual therapy. Osteopaths are trained to work with a broad range of patients, including babies, children and teenagers, and care is delivered through a combination of hands-on techniques, practical advice and, where it is appropriate, onward referral to another professional.
With younger children the techniques used are light and low force. There is no sudden movement and nothing that requires a child to hold still for long. With older children and teenagers the approach looks closer to adult osteopathy, and may include joint articulation, soft tissue work and exercise advice.
Cranial Osteopathy
Cranial osteopathy is a gentle, low force approach used within osteopathic practice. The osteopath works through very light contact at the head, spine and body, responding to subtle movement in the tissues rather than manipulating joints. It sits at the gentle end of the osteopathic spectrum, which is why it is often the approach chosen for babies and very young children.
Many babies stay asleep through the session. Others feed or lie quietly while the osteopath works. Your osteopath will talk you through what they are doing and why at each stage. You can read more on our cranial osteopathy page.
What Happens at Your Child’s First Appointment
Case history
We start with a conversation about your child’s general health and development, any relevant medical history, and what has prompted you to book. If your child is under the care of a GP, health visitor, paediatrician or another therapist, it is helpful to bring those details with you.
Assessment
The osteopath will watch how your child moves and use gentle hands-on assessment. With a baby this is usually done on a treatment couch or on your lap. With an older child it may include watching them walk, reach, bend or hop, depending on what they have come in with.
Hands-on treatment
Treatment usually follows within the same appointment. Your osteopath will explain what they are doing before they do it, and will stop and check in with you and your child throughout.
Plan and advice
You will leave with a clear explanation of what the osteopath found and what they suggest next. That often includes practical advice on positioning, handling, movement or activity that you can carry on with at home. Where something falls outside the scope of osteopathic care, we will say so and point you to the right professional.
Mother and Child Appointments
Our mother and child session is a single appointment in which the osteopath works with both of you. It is a practical option in the months after birth, when finding time for a separate appointment of your own is difficult.
For you, osteopathic care may help with the general aches and pains, backache, uncomplicated mechanical neck pain, muscle spasms, and shoulder and elbow pain arising from associated musculoskeletal conditions of the back and neck that come with lifting, carrying and feeding a baby all day. It can also help with tension and an inability to relax.
For your baby, the osteopath carries out a gentle assessment and hands-on session as described above, alongside advice on positioning and handling at home. If you are also looking for a fuller postnatal assessment of your own, see our Mummy MOT service.
Osteopathy for Children and Teenagers
Older children and teenagers are active, growing quickly, and often training or competing several times a week. Osteopathic care at this stage may help with generalised aches and pains, joint pains, backache, muscle spasms and minor sports injuries.
Appointments are pitched at the child rather than the parent. We explain what we are doing in language they understand, involve them in setting the goal, and give them something practical to take away, whether that is a warm-up, a stretch or a change to how they carry a school bag.
When to Speak to Your GP or Health Visitor
Osteopathy sits alongside medical care rather than replacing it. Please contact your GP, health visitor, NHS 111 or your local urgent care service if your baby or child is unwell, feverish, not feeding, unusually drowsy or difficult to rouse, or if you have any concern about their breathing.
If you have concerns about your child’s development, feeding, hearing, vision or communication, your GP or health visitor is the right first port of call. If something comes up during an osteopathy appointment that needs medical assessment, we will tell you and help you take the next step.
Our Osteopaths
Babies, children and teenagers are seen by Emma Delalex and Max (Francesca) Destefanis.
Every osteopath at Fix is registered with the General Osteopathic Council, which is the statutory regulator for osteopathy in the UK. You can meet the full Fix team and check any osteopath’s registration on the GOsC register.