What is a clinic visit like?

A typical osteopathic consultation has four parts: interview, physical examination, diagnosis and treatment.

Interview
You will be asked about your medical history, including details of your home, work and family.

Physical Examination
You will have a complete physical examination. If necessary, tests will be recommended. Following this, your osteopath will carry out a structural examination, starting with a check on your posture, spine and balance. Using his fingers, the Osteopath will feel your back, arms and legs, checking your joints, muscles, tendons and ligaments.

Diagnosis
After considering the results of the interview and examination, the Osteopath will tell you what may be causing your symptoms.

Treatment
A treatment plan will then be suggested. This may include Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment. Depending on the severity of your problem, more than one treatment session may be recommended.

OSTEOPATHY: Babies and children.

Osteopathy is an effective and natural approach to healthcare for all life stages. Osteopathic treatment for babies and children covers a variety of common complaints, and ensures healthy postural development.

Can osteopathy help my child?
Many common problems suffered by babies and children can be treated effectively with
osteopathy. Problems suffered by babies that respond well to osteopathic treatment include:
crying and irritability, especially when lying down.
feeding difficulties, vomiting colic and wind and sleep disturbances.


At what age should my child be treated?

Children of all ages can benefit from osteopathy. It is never too early to start, and for best results, treatment should begin before the age of five. Early treatment reduces hindrances to growth and limits the severity of any developing learning difficulty.

Osteopathy for Babies and toddlers:
Many problems that babies and children suffer are caused before, during and immediately after birth, resulting in uncomfortable stresses in the head and body. These stresses can lead to problems such as suckling and latching-on difficulties, irritability, colic, wind and disturbed sleep patterns. Toddlers may suffer from difficulties with mobility and play, seeking movement to relieve physical discomfort. Sleep patterns are disturbed, teething may be uncomfortable and head-banging or hair-pulling may occur.
Osteopathic treatment can result in significant improvement in these cases. Osteopathy is also successful in treating the problems suffered by premature babies. These babies
often suffer stresses and trauma during birth, complicated by further stresses from the equipment used to stabilise their condition.

OSTEOPATHY: Pregnancy
Pregnancy is a time when women are more aware of the workings of their body. It produces the largest postural change that a woman’s body will undergo. For many years, osteopaths have used their skills to help relieve the aches and pains caused by weight and posture changes during and after pregnancy.
For many women pregnancy means having to cope with a whole range of symptoms from back pain to morning sickness. As the baby grows in the womb, its extra weight results in a changed centre of gravity and posture changes from week to week. This can lead to a variety of aches and pains in the back, neck, arms and legs.


Why osteopathy?
Osteopathic treatment through pregnancy is a wonderfully gentle way of helping the body adapt to the changes which are taking place. The safety of mother and baby is the osteopath’s first concern.
Advice from your osteopath can help you to change your posture and learn to use your body correctly through pregnancy. Osteopaths can also help to ease other side effects of pregnancy such as heartburn, indigestion, constipation and pain in the buttock, groin or leg (commonly called sciatica).

Osteopathic Training of Members of the IOA:
Osteopathic training is demanding and lengthy, and the IOA recognises qualifications available from osteopathic educational institutions accredited by the GOsC (The General Osteopathic Council of Great Britain). Trainee osteopaths study anatomy, physiology, pathology, biomechanics and clinical methods, underpinned by a thorough clinical training during a four-year full-time honours degree programme. Such wide-ranging medically-based training gives osteopaths the skills to diagnose conditions when osteopathic treatment is not advisable, and the patient must be referred to a GP for further investigation. IOA members are committed to a programme of continuing professional development.