Bowel cramps and constipation (difficulty defecating) are common in infants. This is partly due to the still immature gastrointestinal system, which will have to get used to processing food, so to speak. You often see that bowel problems start around the second week and peak around the sixth week.
Osteopathically, the tenth cranial nerve is important in intestinal cramps or constipation, called the vagus nerve (the “wandering” nerve). It originates in the brain stem and then leaves the skull to control much of the gastrointestinal system. If there is increased tension somewhere along the course of this cranial nerve, for example, at the level of the neck, the esophagus or further down the abdomen, it can have an effect on the functioning of this nerve and thus on the functioning of the intestines.
The cause of intestinal cramps or constipation
During labor, considerable forces act on the baby’s body. Thereby, most of the force comes on the skull (base), the shoulder girdle, the transition from thoracic spine to lumbar spine and on the sacrum. If this is accompanied by a very fast delivery (large forces in a short time), or a relatively long delivery (prolonged action of forces on the body, with possibly the transition to a vacuum or forceps delivery or cesarean section), this can lead to movement losses or tension fields in the baby’s body.
This in turn then affects the function of the aforementioned cranial nerve. Therefore, this could cause a disturbance in the baby’s digestion, possibly resulting in colic or constipation.
These areas of tension will also act as jammers in the baby’s body, making him or her literally uncomfortable. This, in turn, can lead to restlessness or, in some cases, a so-called cry baby.
What can an osteopath do for intestinal cramps and constipation?
From the above, it will be clear that the osteopath will particularly examine the head, neck, chest and shoulder girdle, as well as the abdomen. Here you can think especially about stomach (for example also in case of reflux), duodenum and also colon.It is about detecting movement losses or tension fields in these areas. The rest of the body will also be examined for motility.
Then, using gentle manual techniques, an attempt will be made to eliminate movement losses in joints, organs and enveloping tissue of the nervous system. In this way, the jammers from the body are reduced and or eliminated, so that the body as a whole will be able to function better again. All this could then cause your baby to suffer less bowel cramps or constipation.
Experience shows that babies often respond very quickly to treatment. This means that after a maximum of three treatments, a clear difference in symptoms should be noticeable. That is not to say, by the way, that three treatments are necessarily needed to achieve a result: it regularly happens that the baby’s digestion is already functioning much better after treatment number 1 or 2.
Conversely, after 3 treatments there may not be the desired result, but there must be a significant improvement in bowel cramps and constipation. If nothing has changed after 3 treatments then a fourth, fifth or sixth treatment is also pointless. Then it may be that the cause is not so much mechanical in nature, but that it makes sense, for example, to look at nutrition or method of feeding.
