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Key points:
¡ Case history taking and examination, to arrive at a diagnosis, always precedes treatment
¡ Most of osteopathic treatment involves a wide range of manipulative techniques
¡ Treatment is painless
¡ Osteopaths treat patients, not conditions
The first osteopathic treatment is always preceded by a case history and examination
come to a diagnosis. The patient is told of the osteopath’s conclusions, whether osteopathy can help them, and how, The patient is given an outline of the treatment and can ask any questions before treatment is started.
The nature of the treatment depends not just on the diagnosis but also on the patient - ie it is bespoke – osteopaths treat patients, not conditions.
The osteopaths approach to treatment also depends on the stage of the condition For example, if the patient is complaining of acute low back pain (acute being of recent onset ) priority will be to reduced the symptoms and get the patient able to function fully as soon as possible. Treatment will then be supporting the patients healing processes and reducing any impediments to their recovery. In acute patients, the protective posture masks any underlying long term postural faults. Once the patient is less acute, the osteopath can then examin eagain and determine whether the condition was made more likely by any “predisposing factors” that will need be addressed
Where the condition is chronic (longer lasting), or reccurent, the osteopath is will in this case look at the predisposing and maintaining factors (Why does it keep reccurring, why have they not got better).
Treatment is mainly manipulatibe. The osteopath will select from the wide range of manual techniques at their disposal. Osteopathic treatment often consists of a variety of techniques. For example, treatment may start with soft tissue techniques to relax specific muscles, LAHVTs to gap zygapophyseal joints, follwed by articulation/mobilisation to further increase joint mobility.
Often the osteopath will be working on areas away from the site of pain. There can be several reasons s for this. One is that the pain may be neurogenic( eg sciatica), and where the pain is is not where the nerve id being irritated. Another is that it may be referred pain and the osteopath actually needs to work on the site from m which the pain is generated and not where it appears. Another reason i that that symptomatic joint may be hypermobile – too floppy – and the osteopath is working on other stiff adjacent joints to reduce the demands on the hypermobile segment. Another reason
Is t the osteopath is often working on the overall spinal mechanic and not just the bit that hurts. For example, if you have a neck pain because of a scoliosis (sideways bend) in the low back to which the neck is trying unsuccessfully to adjust, then the osteopath would treat your low back, and may not even touch your neck
You should expect :
Treatment to last between fifteen and thirty minutes
Treatment to be painless
For the osteopath to enquire about your progress and do some re-examination at the start of the next treatment.
To be treated only by the osteopath
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