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Frequently Asked Questions
Does the treatment hurt?
Will I be sore after treatment?
What is manipulation
(clicking of joints)?
Is treatment embarrassing?
Will I be given advice and
exercises?
Do I need to keep coming?
What will it cost?
Can I claim against health
insurance?
Do I need a Dr’s referral?
What if my Doctor said
nothing can be done?
How to choose the right
Osteopath?
Do Osteopaths refer to
other Practitioners?
What is cranial osteopathy?
Does the treatment
hurt?
Generally NO. Most people find osteopathic
treatment to be gentle and relaxing. With some conditions
certain techniques may cause a little pain but not normally more
than you are already used to with your problem. Your osteopath will
warn you if this is likely to be the case. Remember you are in
control of the session and can ask the osteopath to stop or change
to another technique at any time.
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Will I be sore after
treatment?
About 50% of patients experience a slight
increase in symptoms for 12-48 hours after the treatment. A
lot of patients feel 'wiped out' and sleep heavily the night of the
treatment. Again, your osteopath should give you an indication
of what you might feel.
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What is
manipulation (clicking of joints)?
Manipulation is not always used in a
treatment and in fact if you don't want it then there are
alternative techniques - you decide. The aim of joint manipulation
is to improve the quantity or quality of movement or to reset the
sensitised state of a segment in your back or neck. Most of us
have a joint somewhere that occasionally clicks naturally (elbow,
shoulder, neck...) and it is not painful. Similarly,
osteopathic manipulation is usually pain free. The clicking,
popping or cracking noise is not bones rubbing on each other but
thought to be gas coming out of solution as the joint is moved
similar to the whoosh of opening a coke can.
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Is
treatment embarrassing?
Your osteopath should be sensitive to any embarrassment or
awkwardness you may feel and make any necessary adjustments.
You should always be open and honest with your osteopath when
offering the initial information or answering questions to ensure
that you receive the most appropriate treatment. Most
osteopathic techniques are conducted directly onto the skin and
therefore removal of some items of clothing is preferred.
However, there are always workarounds if you prefer not to undress.
I personally ask my patients to reveal just the area I'm working on,
for example to work the lower back, we would lift the back of the
shirt and lower the waist of the trousers by an inch or so.
Again, you decide what happens.
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Will I be given advice and exercises?
Yes. An osteopath’s goal is to empower you to
look after yourself. Very early an osteopath will provide advice on how
to speed up the recovery and to prevent a future recurrence. This may be
in the form of posture, lifestyle, dietary and exercise advice.
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Do I need to
keep coming?
Your osteopath should give you an indication on
your first visit of how many sessions will be required to rectify the
problem. This prognosis will be adjusted as you receive more
treatment. Your osteopath's goal is to empower you through
lifestyle changes or exercises to keep you fit and healthy.
Sometimes due to serious injury, chronic problems or persistent
aggravating factors (like work etc) it may not be possible to fix the
problem once and for all. In this case your osteopath may propose
a maintenance programme of 2 or 3 visits a year to pre-empt a
recurrence.
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Do I need a
Dr’s referral?
No. Osteopaths are fully trained to identify
symptoms that are not mechanical in nature and will tell you if you need
to be examined by your General Practitioner.
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What if my Doctor
said nothing can be done?
Sometimes that can be true but if you have
an injury or condition which includes tightness, restricted movement
and/or inflammation then it is possible that you may feel better
after a visit to the osteopath. This is our business and we
are specialists in our field. For a mechanical problem the GP has at
his or her disposal medication, advice, physiotherapy and surgical
options. Sometimes this helps and of course 'time' is a great
healer. However, osteopathy offers a hands-on alternative that
compliments main stream health care. Unfortunately a large
number of doctors do not appreciate the potential benefits of
osteopathic care and do not think to refer you. If you are
unsure or have any questions then pick up the phone and ask me if I
can help you without any obligation.
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What will it cost?
The number of treatments required will depend
largely on the problem and how long you’ve had it. Some problems are
resolved in one treatment, typically others take 3 - 4 treatments but
you will be given an indication during the initial consultation. Your
initial session will last 40 minutes and then subsequent sessions lasts
about 30 minutes. Both the initial and follow-up sessions cost £35.
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Can
I claim against health insurance?
Most insurers accept osteopathic treatment but
it is always best to check with your osteopath and your insurers first.
Sometimes a GP's referral is also required.
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How to
choose the right Osteopath?
Even though all osteopaths go through the same
training, albeit at different schools, their own personal experiences
and interests mould them into different osteopaths. You will find
some that are very manipulative, some that don't manipulate at all and
of course those somewhere in between. Some osteopaths will treat
almost uniquely with cranial osteopathy whilst others will use elements
of cranial as they see fit. The way osteopaths approach your problem
will also be quite different taking in their own belief systems of how
the body functions. Some osteopaths treat the viscera (organs) and
relate mechanical problems within their support ligaments to
manifestations elsewhere in the body. Some osteopaths use other
modalities like dry needling, acupuncture, ultrasound, laser and more
besides. Confused? You may well be but the simple message is
to seek out the osteopath best suited for you by speaking with them
beforehand or swapping after a treatment or two if you're not happy.
I am a structural osteopath, that is to say that
I look for obvious mechanical problems and use combinations of subtle,
gentle and firm techniques to obtain a more 'oiled' machine. I use
manipulation but sparingly. I choose currently not to practise
cranial osteopathy and therefore do not treat babies and infants under 3
years old. Call me to find out more.
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Do Osteopaths refer
to other Practitioners?
Yes. You will find that most osteopaths
are foremost looking out for your health and if that means that someone
else could treat you more effectively then they should refer you on.
This might be to other osteopaths that use different techniques or other
manual therapists, acupuncturists, physiotherapists, yoga and pilates
instructors etc. Also, if the osteopath cannot be sure that his or
her treatment will be safe they will refer you on for further tests
before treating you.
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What is
cranial osteopathy?
Cranial osteopathy or craniosacral osteopathy is
an extension of osteopathy. Some of the early, great osteopaths
studied in detail the structure of the cranial plates that form our
skull. They found that their structure and more precisely their
joints with neighbouring bones suggested that they articulate even in
adult life. It is believed that the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that
nourishes the brain and spinal cord has a tidal flow up and down the
body a number of times per minute. As the volume of the CSF
increases and decreases in the cranium the bones articulate slightly to
change the shape of the skull to accommodate this change in volume.
One can then postulate that if for some reason
some of these bones do not articulate smoothly than the natural flow of
CSF is also impeded and this can lead to ill health. The cranial
osteopath can detect very subtle restrictions in these cranial plates,
facial bones and the sacrum. By almost unperceivable coercion the
cranial osteopath claims to balance and improve the CSF flow and the
stresses on these bones and joints.
I currently choose not to practise cranial
osteopathy simply because I wish to concentrate on pure structural
osteopathy at the moment.
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