Get the answers our patients frequently asked!

The osteopath will spend time listening to why you have come in and what you are hoping to achieve, and will ask questions about your current issue and also your medical history and any other relevant factors.  Then with your consent the osteopath will carry out an examination, which usually involves looking at your posture and mobility, then carrying out some movements  to check the range of motion in your joints as well as checking muscle tone with palpation and muscle strength with resistance.  It may also involve other tests such as neurological (reflex/sensation) tests or checking your blood pressure if this is relevant.  After this we will spend time explaining what we have found and what we think the best course of action is, and then we can decide together what to do next.  Usually there is time in the first appointment to begin any recommended treatment and give recommendations for home exercises or management.

Comfortable, non-bulky clothing that you are happy moving in is best.  For some conditions we might ask you to remove clothing down to your underwear for examination and/or treatment if necessary, but we’ll always explain why.  If you can ‘dress around’ your problem area (for example, with a knee injury wear shorts not leggings; for a shoulder injury wear a vest top rather than a t-shirt) it makes examination much easier.

This will always come down to your individual situation – as we keep saying, there’s no one size fits all.  But as a general rule if your issue is recent we would expect to see improvement within a session or two, and probably need around 4 sessions overall; for longer standing issues a short/medium term treatment plan of 4-6 sessions with a follow up after a few months might be typical.  We will always let you know in the first session what sort of treatment plan we suggest, and we will always monitor your improvement to make sure we’re on the right track.

Our osteopaths are registered with several private health insurers – individual policies will vary in what they cover and whether a GP referral is required so please check with your insurer in the first instance.  Receipts can be provided immediately after your sessions to claim back.  Health cashback plans such as Simply Health also usually cover osteopathic treatment.