The Collected Papers Of Viola M. Frymann, Do: Legacy of Osteopathy to Children [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Hollis H. King (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 360 pages
• Publisher: AMERICAN ACADEMY OF OSTEOPATHY; 1 edition (1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0940668076
• ISBN-13: 978-0940668072
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,494,647 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vitally important book on children's health, July 31, 2001

By 

William Podmore (London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The collected papers of Viola M. Frymann : legacy of osteopathy to children

This inspiring book is a record of the lifes work of a great and humane woman. All parents, health professionals and educationists, indeed everybody concerned with childrens development and welfare, should read it.

Frymanns early research showed that birth trauma, resulting from prolonged difficult labour, is the commonest cause of development delays in children. 80% of children with learning difficulties, attention deficits and autism, suffered traumatic birth during which the cranium was compressed as it passed down the birth canal. This limited physiological motion and disturbed the development of the nerve pathways, impairing coordination and confusing sensory input. Yet textbooks of child psychiatry uniformly ignore difficult labours material effects on childrens development.

Autistic childrens sensory dysfunctions, and characteristic perceptual and attention deficits, have a neurological origin, not a psychological origin (as postulated by Bruno Bettelheim). The psychological symptoms are the effects, not the causes, of autism. Perinatal complications are more common among autistic children than among their normal siblings or normal controls. Over half of autistic children show focal neurological defects and EEG abnormalities. Many have damage to the temporal lobe causing memory problems. Neurological impairment produces other mental health problems.

Birth trauma can also cause diseases of the ear, nose and throat, among the commonest illnesses. Compression of the facial bones may contribute to sinusitis, compression of the temporal bones to glue ear and vertigo, and compression of the jugular foramen to vomiting. Maladjustments of the jaw can lead to lisping and to difficulties with chewing, eating and swallowing.

A newborn babys cranium can be damaged in all these many different ways, but by the same token, it can also be mended. Osteopathic treatment can improve the cranial structure and so improve neurological function, assisting in restoring proper function in all these areas. Frymanns 3-year study of 186 children at the Osteopathic Center for Children in La Jolla, California, resulted in the classic 1972 paper, Effect of osteopathic medical management on neurological development in children. This showed that osteopathic treatment improved sensory, intellectual and motor performance in children with neurological problems. Her motto is, Dont punish your children, treat them. The earlier the treatment, the better the results.

These findings show that osteopathy should be included in paediatric health care and in special needs education. Ophthalmology, audiology, psychiatry and obstetrics could also all benefit from embracing the science of osteopathy. Osteopathic treatment can also reduce or eliminate the effects of other trauma. Often the osteopathic approach holds the key to solving the patients problem: osteopathy has a vital part to play in preventive medicine.