Gentle yet powerful.

Your body is talking.
I am here to listen.

Osteopathic manual medicine for infants, children and adults.

Photograph · Corey Serravite

Osteopathy is a gentle yet powerful form of medicine that uses hands-on techniques to treat many ailments.

Does this sound like you?
  • You had a concussion weeks ago but still have “brain fog” and trouble focusing
  • You have body pain and nothing you’ve tried relieves it for very long
  • Your child fell or got struck in a sports game and hasn’t been themselves
  • Your baby had a difficult birth and has problems feeding, sleeping or settling down
  • Your child has ear infections and you want an alternative to antibiotics
I had not considered seeing an osteopath for chronic migraine, neck and back pain, but meeting Dr. Boudakian was a game-changer. I have been through multiple therapies over the years and she is by far the most effective, providing the most relief with a surprisingly gentle touch.
Lorenda B.
“After only one session his symptoms cleared dramatically.”
Caroline P.mother of a six-week-old with colic
How osteopathy can help

While not well-known in this day and age, osteopathy has a rich history and is documented in evidence-based trials to provide relief for issues such as:

  • Birth trauma (e.g., breech position, prolonged labor)
  • Colic
  • Headaches & migraines
  • Sports injuries
  • Head trauma (e.g., falls, concussion)
  • Breastfeeding or sucking difficulty
  • Torticollis (crooked neck)
  • Recurrent ear infections
  • Asthma
  • Sinusitis
  • Dental conditions (e.g., malocclusion, TMJ dysfunction)
  • Neurological disorders (e.g., chronic pain and fibromyalgia-like conditions)
  • Scoliosis (curved spine)
  • Developmental delays
  • Back pain
  • Gastritis
  • Constipation

Concussion & traumatic brain injury

From birth trauma in infants to concussions in children, adolescents and adults, specialists in cranial osteopathy use their hands precisely and gently to ease the brain back into place, halting ongoing injury and promoting the flow that facilitates healing.

Read the full article

Help for Kids with Concussions

Children in the U.S. experience over 2 million sports and play related concussions a year. The recovery time can be prolonged for kids and they can experience life-long impairment of memory, emotion and learning. Treatment is primarily body and brain rest (no reading or screen time). For kids this can mean weeks of reduced school and sports participation. However, there is a treatment to mitigate symptoms and recovery time of concussions — osteopathy. Recently, an adamant parent remarked "you really need to go to the schools and let coaches know that you can help kids with concussions." This article is my endeavor as an osteopath and pediatrician to let you know that there is an effective intervention for the physical trauma of concussion.

Concussion is defined as any direct or indirect "blow" to the head or body that causes "shaking" of the brain within the skull impacting brain function. This type of mild traumatic brain injury shifts the brain out of place stretching nerve fibers resulting in micro-trauma and inflammation. Specialists in cranial osteopathy use their hands precisely and gently to ease the brain back into place which halts ongoing injury and promotes blood, cerebrospinal fluid and glymphatic flow facilitating the brain's healing process.

Identifying a concussion is key to treatment. After a head injury a young child might complain of only transient head or body pain or not complain at all. Disrupted brain function in children manifests as changes in behavior such as altered sleep patterns, mood, eagerness to play, focus or difficulty with reading and screen use. I once saw a 5 yr. old who was a back seat passenger in a car that was rear-ended. He complained of neck and back pain that disappeared in hours. His concussion symptom became sleep walking. At his follow up visit I asked his mother how he was doing after his first treatment. Initially, she said she noticed nothing different… then she remembered he had stopped sleep walking! Older children and adolescents can communicate characteristic symptoms such as headache, nausea, dizziness, light sensitivity, vision problems, difficulty concentrating and "brain fog."

Concussions are often underdiagnosed. I see teen athletes who have repetitive head trauma and post-concussive syndrome. These adolescents have chronic concussion symptoms that last months to years. One gymnast who was undiagnosed for months cannot recall a specific injury or fall that caused her concussion.

As parents, care-givers and coaches we need to be keen observers of children and youth athletes. Coaches can use concussion screening tools on the field and medical providers have the "SCAT 5" screening tool in the office. My hope is that with better awareness parents and coaches will identify concussions more readily and use the resources available to help kids recover from concussions and get back to a happy childhood.

Susan Boudakian, D.O. · Originally published in Kentfield & Ross Living, April 2020.

I came to her practice following a concussion, and her insightful holistic approach played an important role in my recovery. The combination of cranial osteopathy, addressing issues with my neck, and techniques to help calm my nervous system helped me regain my health and return to my active lifestyle.
Jane B.
Susan Boudakian, D.O. © Charles Stone
Background

Dr. Boudakian is a graduate of the University of New England, College of Osteopathic Medicine, and completed her Pediatric Residency at Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center. She practiced as a Board-Certified pediatrician and Fellow of The American Academy of Pediatrics for almost twenty years before fully transitioning her practice to specialize in Osteopathic Manual Medicine.

During the course of her career in general pediatric practice she spent years working in adolescent medicine and pediatric rehabilitation medicine, taking care of children with neurologic, congenital and traumatic brain conditions.

Her three-decade career has come full circle in her Marin County practice, where she specializes in treating traumatic brain injury — from birth trauma in infants to concussions in children, adolescents and adults. She also has expertise in orthodontic issues such as tongue tie, malocclusion and orthodontic devices, and TMJ.

Dr. Boudakian contributes to the new generation of medical students in her role as adjunct faculty at Touro University, where she has been teaching Osteopathic Manual Medicine for the last thirteen years.

It is her privilege and joy to be part of your care.

What is osteopathy?

Osteopathy honors the body's own innate wisdom to heal itself.

With our hands we perceive the relationship between the body's structure — bones, muscles, connective tissues, fluids — and its physiologic function. Whereas conventional medicine may focus on finding disease, osteopathy looks for your health. Our hands facilitate your body’s healing forces, enabling them to flow into a restricted or injured area.

In the United States, D.O.s are fully licensed physicians. In addition to our medical school training, we receive hundreds of hours of learning hands-on anatomic palpation and treatment techniques to both diagnose and treat a person.

Cranial osteopathic treatment aims to engage the body's natural ability to heal itself through gentle palpation of the cranial-sacral mechanism. This treatment model can help relieve any strain within the body and allow the tissues, muscles and cells to move in the direction of health through unimpeded lymphatic, blood and nerve flow.

Biodynamic Osteopathy, created by the late Jim Jealous, D.O., is a discipline which taps into the dynamic embryologic forces of development of the body.

Dr. Boudakian is well trained in both traditional Cranial Osteopathy and Biodynamic Osteopathy. In her practice she utilizes a spectrum of modalities to give the patient the level of treatment they need.

In her own words
Someone asked me why I changed my practice to do osteopathy full time. After almost twenty years of medical practice, ten years of participating in specialty osteopathic manual medicine courses, and embarking on my study of intuitive meditation, I experienced a shift in my life. I developed a severe tendon injury and could not work. My injury did not improve with standard orthopedic care, so surgery was recommended. I had to seek osteopathic care, in addition to other modalities, for myself. I avoided surgery for ten years, giving my body time to heal, and in the end only needed a minor surgical procedure.
My injury allowed me to realize that it was time to leave conventional medical practice, embrace my ability to heal people with my hands, and realize my dream of having my own practice.
Patients sometimes remark that osteopathy is “magic.” It really isn’t, though it does feel magical when I am focused on an area of your body and then feel movement, a fluidity, enter the part — and perceive this flow reconnect it to your whole.
In the beginning I thought I would only treat children; however, a wise older osteopath told me, even though I was a pediatrician, “You know you’re going to treat families and not just kids, right?” That physician was correct. My practice has evolved over these years in Marin to treating children, their families, and adults who simply need a gentle, yet powerful, touch.
From families

What parents are saying.

I felt like I witnessed something exceptional and it was truly eye-opening. Beyond that, my little baby was back to her happy self and full of spunk about 45 minutes after our visit. Thank you for making the world a little bit of a better place.
Maryannmother of a five-year-old with an injured arm
Dr. Boudakian worked wonders with our baby girl. We noticed significant improvement after the very first visit. She has a wonderful bedside manner with children and their parents.
Michelle M.mother of a two-month-old with feeding difficulties

I look forward to getting to know you,

& partnering with you on your road towards health.

Begin here
Email to schedule dr.B@osteopathyofmarin.com or call 415-521-9292

1748 Novato Boulevard, Suite 100
Novato, CA 94947