by James Abbott

Created on: October 24, 2008   Last Updated: May 23, 2010

Cranial osteopathy for labyrinthisis is one of those occasions where a much maligned formed of holistic medicine is utilized by even the most sober and sceptical of medical practitioners. Cranial osteopathy in its broadest sense is the subtle manipulation of muscular and skeletal systems of the head and neck. A trained cranial osteopath will gently rock the patient's head and through their heightened sense of touch, will be able to detect the minor rhythms and pulses that operate throughout the head and neck. In the case of cranial osteopathy, the slight rhythms exist through the barely detectable motions between the plates in the skull.

Once a child has passed through adolescences and the pubertal growth spurt, these plates become more effectively fused and any manipulation by a cranial osteopath will be less successful.

Labyrinthisis is a swelling or inflammation of the complex of the inner ear. It can be caused by a virus, bacteria, physical injury and in some cases it may even be due to a reaction to some form of medication. The fluids in the chambers of the inner ear are effected and the brain is no longer able to use any visual information to accurately determine a patients orientation - you feel like you're falling over when your not and the ground may feel like it's tilting!

Cranial osteopathy should only be performed on patients complaining from a more stable form of labyrithisis, i.e., those that do not suffer severe migraines or vomiting episodes. These patients are suffering from the residual long term effects.

The cranial osteopathy along with Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy (exercises for the patient to perform at home mostly taking the form of sustained, unusual head positions) can greatly improve a patient's recovery, though a totally holistic approach will not be successful.

The patient will still need to take some form of anti-anxiety medication, or else they will be in the loop of non-recovery: a loss of balance can cause anxiety, anxiety itself is a barrier to the brain's ability to re-learn balance and process the visual information that patient can see and re-establish a sense of balance.

No form of cranial osteopathy or vestibular rehabilitation therapy should be prescribed or performed by anyone lacking the appropriate qualification.

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