Dr. Curtis McElroy

Category: Internal Medicine

  • The Osteopathic Treatment Of Sleep Disorders

    Osteopathic Treatment for Sleep Disorders

    Osteopathic medicine is a system of healthcare practice that focuses on the entire patient from nutrition and emotional stressors, to their spiritual life and musculoskeletal system.  The theory in osteopathic medicine is that the whole person affects the person’s health.  Everything is considered to be interdependent and the musculoskeletal system plays an important role.

    Cranial osteopathy involves the movement of the brain and spinal cord and will affect spinal fluid and membrane surrounding the brain and the movement of the sacrum between the hips.  This method is similar in feel to acupressure and believed to release restricted muscles, bones, ligaments, membranes and fluid motion to improve an individual’s health and free up their body to begin healing itself.

    Cranial osteopathy is a unique treatment form that has been used to treat colic, reflux, failure to thrive,infections and sleep disorders in infants and young children.  As individuals grow into their teens and young adulthood cranial osteopathy has also been used to help decrease migraine headaches, backaches and improve overall health.

    Cranial osteopathy was devised by William Gardner Sutherland in the early part of the 19th century.  He was in osteopathic who discovered the cranium is made of bones that were intricately joined to permit a slight yielding motion.  He understood that this was possible to allow a slight rhythmical expansion and contraction of the brain inside the skull that was quite independent of the movement of breathing and heartbeat.

    This gentle manual treatment is aimed to restore normal movement in the body and allow healthy functioning and integration to all the systems.  It is this treatment that is used in infants and young children who have difficulty with sleeping disorders, or sleep disturbances.

    Theory and treatment of sleep disturbances in young children and infants is that the tension of the bony and membranous casing of the inside of the skull will keep the baby’s nervous system in a persistent state of alertness.  This consistent state of alertness does not allow the child to fall asleep easily.

    In the case of an adult this constant state of alertness is often caused from stress or a “mind that will not rest” which is not changed by the improvement in fluid mechanics inside the skull. Treatment for sleep disorders in adults may find some relief with cranial osteopathy but are more frequently assisted with treatment of a psychologist or physical evaluation for sleep apnea.

    RESOURCES

    American Osteopathic Sleep Association
    http://osteopathicsleep.com/

    Southerland Society: Cranial Osteopathy
    http://www.cranial.org.uk/page3.html

    Osteopathic Medicine and Primary Care: Osteopathy May Decrease Obstructive Apnea in Infants
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2500035/

     

     

     

  • Cranial Osteopathy- What Is It

    What is cranial osteopathy

    Cranial osteopathy is a branch of osteopathic medicine in which the physician uses their hands to facilitate movement between the skull bones.

    In the mid-1930s Dr. Sutherland helped to develop and teach cranial osteopathy.  He emphasized that the cranial concept was only an extension of, and not separate from, the science of osteopathy.  He felt that the continuity of rhythmic fluid movement through all tissues of the body, including the skull, would help to improve the health of individuals.

    While Dr. Sutherland was a student he pondered the potential of a separate or disarticulated skull.  Because Dr. Still taught that every structure exists because it performs a particular function, Dr. Sutherland had a flash of inspiration that the temporal area of the head may have been open to enable a respiratory motion for an articular mechanism.

    In other words, the temporal area may have been open in order to allow the bones of the head the ability to move.

    Many anatomy books state that the cranial sutures are fused once an individual reaches adulthood.  But, over many years of intensive study Dr. Sutherland came to discover this previously unrecognized phenomenon.  Thoreau and Dr. Sutherland’s practice and further study in the coming years cranial osteopathy has been the study of anatomy and physiology of the cranium and the interrelationship it has with the rest of the body.  Osteopaths and cranial osteopaths can apply this motion for the prevention and treatment of disease as well is the enhancement of health for individuals.

    The use of cranial osteopathy is gentle and effective and can be used for people of all ages, from birth to old age.  Physicians who are trained in cranial osteopathy learn to feel a very subtle and rhythmical shape change that is called Involuntary Motion or Cranial Rhythm.  The existence of this motion was finally confirmed in a series of laboratory tests in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

    By feeling the tension in the cranial rhythm practitioners are able to compare your rhythm with what they consider to be ideal.  This helps them to find the stressors and strains on your body and what tension it may be carrying as a result of past history.

    Cranial osteopathy aims to treat the whole person and not just a single condition so that a wide variety of situations can benefit from the treatment as the body is placed in a position to be able to heal itself.

    Some of the more common symptoms which are treated include back and neck pain, sports injuries, headaches and migraines, sinus problems, stress, recurrent infection, digestive difficulties, colic, sleeping in feeding difficulties in infants.

    The science of osteopathy is a system of diagnosis and treatment that works with the entire structure and function of the body.

    Cranial osteopathy takes this one step further to look more completely at the motion of the cranial bones and how they affect the neurological system and the flow of cerebral spinal fluid.

    The goal of cranial osteopathy is the same as the goal of osteopaths, and that is to work to restore the structure and function of the body to stay in balance and harmony which helps the whole person.

     

  • The Benefits Of An Osteopathic Physician For Seniors

    Benefits of Using an Osteopath in the Senior Years

    Everyone knows that with age comes arthritis.  It is almost inevitable.  Anyone that has lived life to its fullest can appreciate that their body has been through many years of physical strain and stress.  Their joints and muscles have been taxed and the result is discomfort due to arthritis.

    The knees, the ankles, the bones of the feet, the hips, not to mention the back and neck are all at risk.  The deteriorating body in the senior years amounts to much discomfort and stiffness.  Medication, such as pain relievers and anti-inflammatories will help to minimize the discomfort.  However, there is so much more that you can do to relieve this uncomfortable and downright painful health problem.

    First of all, let’s talk about arthritis.  There are two common forms of arthritis, degenerative or osteoarthritis, and inflammatory arthritis.

    Osteoarthritis, also called OA or degenerative arthritis, is the most typical form of arthritis in the individual who is in their senior years.  This type of arthritis is due to the strain and stressors that one has been through just by living life.  Heavy lifting, sports, improper posture, and previous injury accounts for this.  Good news!  There is relief from this type of discomfort.  One of the benefits of using an osteopath in the senior years is that they are very familiar in treating this type of arthritis.  It is commonly seen and many seniors have been treated with a great deal of success.

    Inflammatory arthritis is another type of arthritis with a great deal of people being stricken with RA or rheumatoid arthritis.  This is a painful form of this and causes stiffening and swelling of not only the joints, but also damage to the entire body itself.  This form of arthritis will cause a deterioration of the immune system as well.  Although not easy to treat, many people have found relief and benefit in using an osteopath in the senior years.

    Osteopathic doctors treat the elderly with either form of arthritis with treatment measures such as putting their affected extremities through range of motion exercises and gentle stretching exercises.  This type of treatment will loosen the joints and/or muscles and offer greater pain-free movement.

    The benefits of using an osteopath in the senior years are numerous.  Seniors affected by arthritis have found relief for their stiff joints and muscles.  This has allowed many seniors to live a more active, pain-free lifestyle with greater range of motion.  Not only are they able to physically do more, they are doing it without pain.

    Osteopathic physicians will also work with seniors to help prevent illness and disease through improving their overall health with nutrition, supplement and exercise recommendations.  These changes can help reduce pain and discomfort from current joint problems and reduce the risk for developing other medical problems such as diabetes, stroke and heart attack.  Through an overall approach to health and wellness, osteopaths can help to improve the quality of life for those who are living in their senior years.

    If you are bothered by arthritis or any type of joint or muscle injury, consider being seen for an evaluation and possible treatment by an osteopathic doctor.

    This could be one of the best things that you do for your health.

    RESOURCES

    University of Maryland Medical Center: Osteopathy
    http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/osteopathy-000358.htm

    MedlinePlus: Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine
    http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002020.htm

    American Osteopathic Association
    http://www.osteopathic.org/Pages/default.aspx

    American Academy of Osteopathy
    http://www.academyofosteopathy.org/

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