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Osteopathy is a known and established system of diagnosis and treatment of muscles, ligaments, nerves and joints damaged by work, stress, injury or disease. Pain, inflammation, loss of mobility or impaired organ function are generally the results.
Osteopathy is a manual therapy and does not involve the use of drugs or surgery. Osteopaths use physical manipulation techniques to correct the body's structure, ease restricted movement and re-establish normal circulation. By doing so, the body will function better without further damage pain or disease.
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What To Expect
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 During your first appointment, your osteopath will take a detailed history of your health and ask about your symptoms, lifestyle and diet. They will do a physical examination that may involve testing reflexes, posture and movements. In some cases an X-ray or MRI will be required.
The osteopath will then start with gentle stretching and massage techniques helping relax the tissues and muscles and ease any tension. This will be followed by manipulation techniques and mobilization. You may hear a popping noise in your joints as they use these manipulations but this shouldn't be painful. Gas bubbles in the fluid of our joints pop with certain movement and it is perfectly normal. Osteopathy can also use gentle movement of the skull; this type of therapy is called cranial osteopathy and is a specialized treatment.
After-effects can include a slight soreness in the affected joint or area. Also headache and feeling of tiredness are normal side-effects. Drinking of enough water (1 ½ liter a day) can help speeding up the process. Normally this should pass after a day if not consult us. The osteopath may give you exercises to do at home as well as dietary or lifestyle advice.
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Is It Good For Me?
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Osteopathy is a safe and proven therapy used among people of all ages and its benefits are widely recognized . Pregnant women with joint pain and/or back pain have benefited from the therapy but it is advised that those who are 8 - 12 weeks pregnant should not have the treatment.
Osteopathy should not be used when you use medication to thin your blood. Cancer patients with bone cancer or bone marrow should avoid certain osteopathic techniques. Consult with your GP if your condition can be treated with osteopathy before making an appointment.
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Osteopathy was first practiced in the late 19th century by American physician Andrew Taylor Still. Dr. Still proposed that when bones are out of place, blood flow and nerve impulses become restricted causing disease. By manipulating these bones back into position, the flow is restored and disease can be cured. Still began teaching osteopathy and many of the newly trained osteopaths from this school soon began to arrive in Europe.