When Should a Baby or Child be Assessed for Body Stress?

The birth process may be stressful to the baby. It makes sense to have a baby assessed for body stress within a few months of the birth, even if there do not appear to be any problems. In this way, if there is any tension stored in the baby’s neck or back it will be released before it accumulates to have an adverse impact on the nervous system.

The BSR practitioner carries out the checks and releases while the baby is lying on the mother’s chest or lap. The pressure applied is very light and comfortable for the baby. After the stored stress is released a baby very often will fall into a sound sleep.

Small children cannot always verbalise what they are feeling, but the parents may observe signs indicating the presence of body stress. For example, a normally good-natured child will become sullen and uncooperative, or the child may talk about a “funny feeling in the tummy”, or complain of sore legs.

Children enjoy experiencing BSR as it is a gentle procedure and they become aware of how different they feel once the stored tension has been released. Often a small child will be aware of the body stress and will ask to be taken for a BSR session.

Babies & children respond very quickly to BSR, as the pressure has not been present in the body for a long time and is readily released.

Causes

If the birth process was difficult, a baby may be born with body stress, especially in the neck and lower spine. Small children are likely to accumulate body stress as a result of frequent falls and jerks while playing, or trying to lift heavy objects. Children may sit incorrectly, e.g. reading or studying while sitting hunched over on a bed will induce stress in the neck and lower back. Watching television while in a half-lying position which reverses the normal lumbar curve will cause pressure to build up in the spine. As they approach puberty, children become more self-conscious and may develop poor posture. Hunched shoulders, a contracted chest and downward tilted head occur as a defensive mechanism against the new challenges and stresses in life. Muscles tighten and tension becomes locked into the body.

Effects

• A common sign that a baby has body stress in the neck is constant crying for no apparent reason.
• When body stress is present in the lower back the baby will cry when the hips are lifted while the nappy is being changed. The impact on the nervous system may cause constipation.
• Body stress in the area of the diaphragm may result in colic.
• Toddlers who refuse to walk and demand to be carried, or who complain of sore legs, (so-called growing pains) very likely have body stress in the lower back. The leg muscles may be affected, causing a tendency of the feet to turn inwards.
• Bed-wetting may occur if the nerve supply to the bladder is irritated.
• At school, a child with tension in the neck may lack concentration and become disruptive.
• If there is pressure in the lower back, the child may be restless and unable to sit still.

Amanda Fourie
M.B.S.R.A. (S.A.)
B.S.R. Practitioner

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