Frequently Asked Questions About Osteopathy

Osteopathic medicine, which incorporates Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT), is a fully recognized diagnostic and therapeutic system founded by Andrew Taylor Still MD in 1874.

On the 28th October 1998 the General Osteopathic Council issued the following description of osteopathy:

‘Osteopathy is an established recognised system of diagnosis and treatment, which lays its main emphasis on the structural and functional integrity of the body. It is distinctive by the fact that it recognises that much of the pain and disability that we suffer stems from abnormalities in the function of the body structure as well as damage caused to it by disease’

What this means is that, Osteopathy is a system of therapy that emphasizes normal body mechanics and manipulation to correct faulty body structures. Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT) is composed of a spectrum of manual techniques that today’s osteopathic physicians use to alleviate pain, restore freedom of motion, and enhance the body’s own healing power. Often these techniques are used in conjunction with more conventional forms of medical care, such as prescribing medication and performing surgery.

Osteopaths believe that every single segment in the spine should move individually in order to provide optimum function of the body and its structures. If any of these segments fail to work to their maximum capability, strain is placed on other areas of the spine due to overuse. This is seen most commonly in those individuals who slump in front of Visual Display Units (VDU’s), the TV at home or simply anywhere they sit! These people present most commonly with neck pain. Your Osteopath will be able to explain to you the function of your spine and its strengths and weaknesses.

Osteopathy is a complementary medicine that not only takes in account the physical symptoms but the lifestyle, attitudes and current health of the patient. Therefore when visiting your osteopath you will not only receive advice on how to reduce physical symptoms such as immediate pain, but postural advice, exercise advice, lifestyle advice, hydrotherapy advice and nutritional advice. These factors are considered important as they help to optimise your external and internal environment, helping them to work effectively with each other and therefore help in reducing the discomfort with which you presented to the clinic. There are various types of Osteopathy, Structural Osteopathy, Cranial Osteopathy, Visceral Osteopathy.

Osteopathy works on the basis of optimising your body’s structure and therefore its function. The primary aim is to reduce inflammation. This is achieved by:

• Mobilising the joints improving joint circulation, nerve supply and lymphatic drainage
• Manipulation or joint release of restricted joints
• Muscular release of any tissues compacting the area promoting stagnation of toxins in the damaged area
• Hydrotherapy advice
• Exercise prescription
• Postural analysis and advice

After all of the above is achieved the body will begin to heal itself and improvements in symptoms will become increasingly noticeable.

Osteopaths can help with most aches or pains in the body. If it hurts, consult your local Osteopath. It is also not very common knowledge that osteopaths can help even if there ISN’T PAIN. If you are feeling stiffness, tightness, or just a slight niggle, this is the best time to consult the osteopath. This is because the symptoms are less severe and more responsive to treatment. When there is significant damage in one or more of the body’s structures we feel an ache or pain, sometimes agony. At this time it takes significantly longer to gain relief.

Here is a list of just a few of the things osteopathy can help with:

• Low back pain
• Pregnancy induced Back Pain
• Middle back pain
• Neck pain
• Shoulder pain
• Elbow, wrist and hand pain
• Hip, buttock and thigh pain
• Foot, calf and knee pain
• Headaches and migraine
• Joint pain, like arthritis
• Postural problems
• Slipped discs
• Sports injuries, like tennis elbow, and repetitive strain injuries
• Trapped nerves / Sciatica
• Whiplash injuries
• Asthma and other breathing problems…
• And much more…

If you have any of the below symptoms you may benefit from osteopathy:

• Stiffness / tightness
• An occasional ache / niggle
• An occasional ache / pain
• A constant ache / pain
• Sharp shooting pains
• Restricted joint mobility
• Pins and needles
• Numbness
• Weakness
• A throbbing sensation
• Shooting pains
• Joint swelling
• Joint locking, giving way, clicking / grating
• Headaches / migraines

If you are not sure whether osteopathy would benefit you, you can contact me, or make an appointment at the clinic for a quick informal chat. I would be happy to give you a few moments of my time.

Your practitioner must be registered with the General Osteopathic Council (GOsC). The GOsC have a very strict code of ethics for its members to adhere to and only allow professionally trained practitioners on their register.

First Visit

Your first visit will always be slightly longer than follow up treatments. Times can vary between 45 mins to 1 hour.

Firstly a detailed case history will be taken. This means that the Osteopath will talk to you about the problem you have come to the clinic with e.g. Neck pain.

Some examples of the sorts of questions you will be asked are;

• where exactly is the pain?
• when did it first start?
• what does it feels like? i.e. describe the pain
• what aggravates and relieves it?
• and so on…

During this time the osteopath will also ask about your past medical history i.e. what illnesses you have, accidents you have been involved in or any operations you may have had. This is important as it explains to the practitioner the external and internal stresses your body has been through during your life, and helps understand your current presentation. If you take medication, please bring a list with you.

Then the osteopath will diagnose the tissues causing the symptoms. This is through a medical orthpaedic assessment. Using a specialised sense of touch called palpation the osteopath is able to narrow down the structure from which you are experiencing the pain.

Your Osteopath will often carry out a screen of your general health by taking your blood pressure, pulse and reflexes just as part of the general procedure.

Once a clinical medical diagnosis has been made, the osteopath will discuss your treatment plan with you. This may include the expected number of treatments for recovery.

Treatment

The following are some of the most commonly used manipulative procedures used to correct skeletal misalignment and encourage self-healing:

• articulatory techniques
• counterstrain
• cranial treatment
• myofascial release treatment
• lymphatic techniques
• soft tissue techniques
• thrust techniques

Osteopathic manipulation can be utilized to relieve various kinds of pain, including muscle spasm. However your practitioner may not always manipulate your spine and if you tell your practitioner that you are nervous about this procedure, the practitioner will discuss other options of treatment with you.

Advice

After this stage, you will move on to lifestyle changes. e.g. becoming more aware of your posture when sitting at home, at work, when sleeping at night, standing, lifting, running, dancing, playing sports etc? This helps reduce any strain that you may be putting on the spine without realising it. With this the osteopath may prescribe a couple of exercises to keep the particular area mobile between sessions. Hydrotherapy advice also will be given.

Follow-up Visits

• These sessions will be between 30 mins.
• These will consist of treatment and advice.

This depends on the following factors:

• Your diagnosed problem
• How you are responding to treatment
• How compliant you are with the advice given to you by the osteopath

The average number of visits to an osteopath is between 5 – 8 appointments.

If you were not responding to treatment i.e. you feel the same as when you walked through the door on the first visit, even after being very compliant with all the advice given to you, your osteopath would then discuss further options with you.

These options can be:

• Referring you to your GP for his professional opinion
• Getting an XRAY, MRI, CT SCAN done
• Getting a blood test
• Seeing a consultant / another specialist e.g. orthopaedic surgeon, neurosurgeon