**Osteopathy is covered by all major Ontario extended health benefit plans.**
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Due to Osteopathy’s gentle nature and deep listening to the body, treatment is beneficial for all ages and abilities.

Osteopathy can be especially helpful for babies as they transition and adapt to life outside of the womb. Depending on their positioning while in the womb, or their birthing experience, babies can hold certain patterns or have preferences of movement within their bodies impeding and effecting the vital forces of the body; nerves, arteries, veins, and lymphatics. This in turn can lead to trouble with digestion, elimination, latching/feeding, sleeping, preferences of movement and a whole host of other challenges. An Osteopathic treatment aims to gently balance out these patterns, allowing the body to function more efficiently. As babies still have so much growth and development ahead of them, this only benefits them in their life moving forward, allowing them to grow and develop in their most balanced and harmonious way.

Erica has a special interest and love for working with newborns and babies and children of all ages as these little changes can benefit them for their life moving forward. Erica has years of specialized experience working with babies and children. 

Common infant conditions for which treatment is beneficial:

• Difficult or Traumatic birth (long labor, slow descent, rapid descent, cord around the neck, cephalohematoma, vacuum, forceps or C-section)
• Constipation
• Feeding difficulties 
• Poor latch/suck
• Tongue tie (shortened or attached frenulum)
• Reflux and spitting up
• Colic
• Torticollis (Head turning preference, head tilt, restricted movement of the neck)
• Plagiocephaly (Asymmetry of the head)
• Twin birth
• Hip dysplasia
• Tibial torsion (leg strain or twist)
• Shoulder dystocia (strained shoulder from the birth process)

​​My goal is for you to feel comfortable and relaxed when you arrive for your child's treatment. Here is what you can expect for your first visit:

The initial appointment is approx. 40 minutes. It includes a thorough, confidential health history, an assessment, and treatment. Please bring or wear comfortable non-restrictive clothing to allow free range of motion.

Palpation, observation, and motion testing will be used in order to find asymmetries, restrictions in motion, tissue tension, and/or sensorial changes within the body. ​The assessment and treatment incorporate the whole-body head to toe, as all parts function together in an integrated system.

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The treatment is gentle and should feel relaxing. The body is gently manipulated to free up the restricted areas impeding the vital forces of the body (nerves, arteries, veins, lymphatics) providing overall balance to the structure.

Osteopathic manual therapists use levers and fulcrums to softly free up tight tissues and restricted joints. As structure and function are inter-related, the mechanical treatment has a neurophysiological effect, allowing the body to function more efficiently.

Follow up treatments are 25 minutes in length:

Treatment plans are based on individual health needs and on the body’s ability to heal, with improvement typically after 3-5 treatments. In more serious or chronic cases, a longer treatment plan may be necessary.

The end goal for each patient varies depending on the individual. An Osteopathic treatment aims to fix the root of the problem, opposed to temporary relief and frequent visits. We are working with natural law, and with the body, rather than against it to facilitate the healing process. This could mean more energy, better sleep, less pain, improved digestion, and a higher quality of life among many other potential positive effects. As Osteopathy treats the individual, each case is unique and may be preventative, curative, or palliative depending on the nature of the condition.

​Ultimately, Osteopathy aims to optimize the self-healing mechanisms of the body, helping you be your best!