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Osteopathy - FAQ'sDoes it hurt?
The general rule is no as all techniques are specifically chosen to suit individual patients and a consultative approach is taken to ensure that you the patient are comfortable at all times. The golden rule is ""do no harm"", so the "no pain no gain" saying is not applicable here." Occassionally, some of the osteopathic techniques used can feel slightly awkward and unusual but they should never hurt.
What will happen in the fist consultation and thereafter? Osteopaths take an integrated approach to your healthcare and therefore require a lot of information from you to assist them with their diagnosis of your complaint and then construct a management plan that is primarily safe and best suited to your complete recovery. A full case history will therefore be taken, asking questions directly about your complaint such as where, for how long, what makes it worse and better etc. Then a past medical history will be taken to include questions such as previous surgery and illnesses, heart conditions and family history etc; After the case history has been taken, your osteopath will have a very good idea as to what has happened, but will need to examine you to be sure. The detailed examination will involve looking closely at the affected region and then assessing it in the context of the rest of your body. Your osteopath will need to examine by touch, all the time picking up details such as hot and swollen areas that might be a sign of inflammation, or cool dry areas that might mean a more chronic condition etc. Assessing how your body moves with you actively moving, for example leaning to one side and then the other for an assessment of your spinal movements will give a lot of information, your osteopath will then compare this movement with the movements they achieve through passively moving your spine without you helping them, all the time assessing for both the quality and quantity of movement. Any essential tests will also be performed at this stage, almost certainly blood pressure and then other tests such as a neurological assessment and perhaps a check on the blood supply to the affected areas. After the examination, your osteopath will have a good idea as to what has happened and will discuss this with you at length, in a consultative approach. It may be that your best avenue of treatment will be a visit to your GP or another healthcare professional, but in the large majority of cases, your osteopath will discuss and agree a contract of care between you, detailing the nature of the problem and giving you the information relating to how best to address the issue and then with your full consent deciding on the specifics of osteopathic treatment approaches.
Firstly the techniques that tend to create the popping noise are few and far between and there is always the option to have a different technique used. If a technique is going to be used which might produce a popping noise or sensation then this will be discussed with you first as you have the choice at all times. The techniques are very useful and can provide excellent therapeutic benefits, especially for the more acute type of injury, but it is by no means the only way or indeed the treatment of first choice.
We care about your health and never want a state of undress to be a barrier to you getting the treatment you need, so please speak to your osteopath and express your concerns and we will do our utmost to cater for your needs. Osteopathy is a medical intervention and we are trained primary healthcare practitioners who have your
safety, effective and ethical treatments at the foremost of our minds at all times.
In most cases, light and loose clothing is suitable and we do have spare sports shorts and vests available should it be necessary for you to dress down as osteopathy works by taking an integrated approach so examination/treatment of what might seem unrelated areas may be essential for your effective and safe treatment. Your privacy and modesty is respected at all times.
How many treatments does it take to get me better? Our aim is to get you back to full health as quickly as possible. Each person is an individual and different in the way they are made, the way they look after their bodies, how long they have had the injuy, and the way they react to treatment and act on the information they are given, so an exact number of treatments is hard to say. The family osteopath runs a clinical audit to track the success of all our patients’ outcomes across the wide variety of ills that they present with. Currently the average recovery time is around a handful of treatment sessions (please see our clinical audit secion for the most up to date statistics). Please note that taking on board the advice that your osteopaths gives is essential for your recovery and can have a large impact on your recovery time. Your osteopath does not want to wrap you in cotton wool and stop you doing the things you love, far from it, we want you to be able to enjoy everything, but a few simple changes and sometimes a little rest can go along way to ensure that your enjoyment is never curtailed.
What is the difference between an osteopath and a chiropractor? Historically this is a political answer relating to the founder of osteopathy, Dr Andrew Taylor Still, falling out with his student, D.D. Palmer, who then went on to be the founder of chiropractic. Nowadays, the differences between us are little with many osteopaths working like chiropractors and vice versa. From an academic point of view, the training is almost identical now, being over five years and both healthcares are fully regulated by statute law. The principle working difference that we have gleaned from our own patients experience, has informed us that osteopathy tends to involve more rhythmical and gentler techniques (less spinal manipulation that can produce “the popping sound”) over consultations that last a little longer and are fewer in number. Further that we tend to work on a wider area of the body rather than concentrating primarily on the spine and pelvis.
What happens if I have a complaint? In the first instance you must inform your osteopath as to the nature of your complaint. We have never had a complaint at this practice, and indeed, complaints against osteopaths are few and far between. The General Osteopath’s Council inform us though, that in the instances where complaints have been made against osteopaths, almost all are down to an error in communication and therefore talking through with your osteopath might help to clarify any misunderstanding. Osteopaths are regulated by statute law and a statutory register is held by The General Osteopaths Council (GOsC). Should you wish to make a formal complaint to GOsC then please contact the practice and full details of how to make a formal complaint will be given to you without prejudice.
Your osteopath is a primary care healthcare professional and as such is able to communicate with others healthcare professionals should the need arise. It is standard practice that your GP will be informed of the outcome of your osteopathic treatment after you have been discharged. However, you are entitled to the same confidentiality as you would expect from your GP, therefore, any communications with your GP or others will require your express consent of which you are fully entitled to withhold should you wish to. On some occasions, a referral to your GP is essential so that you may receive the best healthcare available, in these instances and with your consent, a letter of referral detailing your case will be sent to your GP.
Yes, stringent and extensive training over five years and regulation by statute law ensures that osteopaths have the skills necessary to care for you in a safe and gentle fashion. It is more important that your osteopath knows when not to treat than when to, and for that reason alone, substantial training to diagnose and understand circumstances when treatment would not be safe is given. Most treatments are gentle and are always aimed at getting the maximum healing from the minimalist intervention, your osteopath is not trying to force your body back to health, instead we assist the body to return to normal (click here for a full explanation – osteopathy in a nutshell). All intervention that has the ability to do good, can potentially do harm, however in the vast majority of cases this is far from the case and in those few patients that do experience some kind of side effect from osteopathic treatment, they experience no more than that which might be expected the day after a heavy work out at the gym. It must be stated however, that a treatment reaction may happen and is most common for a couple of days post treatment. Your osteopath is experienced in dealing with this and views it in a positive way as it means in most instances that a change in your body’s ill health has occurred. If you have experienced this, then it is important that you let your osteopath know at the next appointment so that they can adjust and tweak your management plan accordingly. Remember, your osteopath will gladly talk to you if you have any queries relating to the treatment you have had, so if in doubt call. Some manipulative techniques (the ones that make the popping noise) have had a lot of bad press recently, with particular emphasis given to forceful manipulations of the upper neck which have in a very few patients caused minor temporary strokes, and in some cases these have been permanent. The exact figures relating to the numbers involved is not known but is thought to be in the one or two cases, which must be seen in the context of a recent report which estimated that 1220 patients deaths occur in those who take a 2 month prescription of NSAIDS (non steroidal anti-inflammatory) in one year alone (please click on web link at the bottom of the page for references). However, putting statistics to one side, any risk must be weighed up, and at The Family Osteopath, no manipulation of the upper neck is given without prior consent having been received from you the patient and after attempts, which are most often successful to release the tensions in a more gentle and safe manner have failed and then only when all risks have been eliminated by careful and thorough testing. All osteopaths are trained to perform upper neck manipulations in a way that minimises the risks still further. For more information please do speak with your osteopath who will be glad to explain in more detail. http://www.pjonline.com/Editorial/20000318/clinical/longtermnsaid.html
Do I have to be referred by my doctor? No is the simple answer, although most GP’s actively refer their patients to osteopaths but no official referral is required. If you are uncertain about your suitability for treatment at the family osteopath then we welcome you to either call the family osteopath for an informal chat or check with your GP. Currently osteopathy is fully recognised by the General Medical Council (GMC) and British Medical Association (BMA), however only a few osteopaths are working within the NHS.
Your health is a serious issue to you and your family osteopath and careful consideration must be taken to ensure that your best health is the priority at all times. Free check ups and assessments have their place, but as primary healthcare professionals we do not believe that it is ethical to cut corners in your health. It takes a full consultation, lasting on average 45 mins, to conduct a full case history and detailed examination, all of which demands skill and experience to have a really thorough understanding of what is going on, any less is in our view a health risk that we are not prepared to take on your behalf. If you are unsure as to what to do and whether The Family Osteopath can help, then please feel free to call and an osteopath will gladly help answer your questions where possible, you may also book a time to come in and have a chat through, subject to appointments being available.
Age or status is no barrier to care at The Family Osteopath, babies from days old, to patients in their 90’s plus and all in between benefit from a personalised approach to their healthcare.
Yes, most insurance companies will reimburse your osteopathic fees. Please check with your osteopath for full details.
More and more of our patients are taking a longer-term view of their health resulting in preventative treatments becoming increasingly popular. Just as you might visit an optician or dentist for regular check-ups, patients can benefit from visits to The Family Osteopath for advice and treatment when needed. The contract of care that your osteopath discussed with you on your first consultation (click here for a detailed explanation of what happens in your first consultation) will have given your osteopath a good idea as to whether maintenance treatments might be beneficial to you, but only after the course of treatments in the management plan have been fulfilled will it become clear as to whether you are a candidate or not for maintenance. Candidates for maintenance tend to be those who place a continued heavy burden on their bodies such as builders and sports enthusiasts (playing not watching!) and also patients who are coping with long term disability and or significant arthritic issues that require regular intervention to manage the issues rather than solve completely. Either way, the choice is entirely up to you and your family osteopath will gladly discuss through with you the options available, and will be happy to see you on your terms. © TheFamilyOsteopath 2007. All Rights Reserved. | Contact UsCouch Rolls | Massage Couch Roll |
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