On your first visit we take a case history; medical history, accidents, injuries, operations, medications taken, and ongoing investigations. We will ask  questions to help understand how healthy you are. You may have your blood pressure taken. We might ask to check your abdomen or stomach, to check for any discomfort which may be causing your trouble.

Once we understand how your problem started, what makes it worse and what you do to relieve it, we will then ask you to disrobe but only to a point. We need a good view of the area above and below the site of pain, so for the low back, we request that you undress to shorts or underwear, a neck problem would only require shirt off , an ankle or knee problem would only need removal of trousers. A full assessment of the area  will be made and we will discuss what we find, explain what we think and what we are doing.

Treatment

Treatment consists of soft tissue massage and passive joint articulation  related to the problem area. It is likely that we will use thrust techniques to mobilise spinal joints. There are exceptions to this including  if you request not to have that procedure. At the end of the initial visit we will have assessed, made sure we understand the problem and given a small amount of treatment. On follow up visits your osteopath will likely spend the whole of your visit treating you. During this time he or she will advise you on exercises to do or avoid and  suggest some lifestyle alterations. Computer use, gardening, training methods or posture, are often culprits.

We usually know how long it will take to return you to normal activities. The average length of time is six visits, over a period of three weeks for low back pain. If you are involved in a heavy lifting accident it will take longer to resolve than if you tweaked your back picking up a plant pot. In general, the best way to predict recovery rate is to assess after the first visit.

Please call us if you are unsure whether your problem is for osteopathy and we can discuss your needs