What to expect

Adults

Your first appointment will take up to an hour.  We’ll start with a ‘listening session’ where we take the time to hear about the problem you’ve come in with, and we’ll want to know about other factors which are all important in osteopathy – your occupation and lifestyle, previous illnesses and operations, stress levels, leisure activities and nutrition, so that we can take a holistic view of your situation.

Once we have all this information, we’ll make a physical assessment, to build up a picture of how your body is working – whether there are any restrictions or tensions, or pain produced when you move in a particular way.  We may also include some basic medical tests, like reflexes.

We’ll put all of this information together to form a diagnosis and come up with a customised treatment plan.   In some cases we may refer you for x-rays or other medical tests – and we’ll work with your GP to get that sorted out.

Osteopathic treatment uses a range of gentle hands on techniques to encourage your body to release tension, reduce inflammation, and increase mobility.  We’ll begin treatment in your first session and may suggest exercises and homework as part of your recovery plan.

Our aim is to have you feeling better again as soon as possible, so that you can get on with the things that matter to you most.

Babies and children

Osteopathy can help to relieve the symptoms of a wide range of common childhood conditions.

Your first appointment will take up to an hour.  We’ll start with a ‘listening session’, so that we can really get to know about your situation and what you’re dealing with.  As well as hearing about the problem that you’ve come in with, we’ll want to know about other factors that help to build up the picture of your baby’s life so far, including how your pregnancy went and what their birth was like, as well as any illnesses or anything else which has been happening since then.

Once we have all of this information we’ll ask you to undress your baby down to their nappy, so we can check their body for tension or tension patterns, and we’ll talk you through anything that shows up.

Osteopaths are trained to screen for medical conditions and we’ll tell you if we think you need to see another health professional such as your doctor or midwife.  If we believe that your baby would benefit from osteopathic treatment, we’ll let you know what we think will make a difference.

Babies’ skeletons are softer than adults, and we’ll use very gentle techniques including cranial osteopathy when treating your baby – typically there is less pressure or movement than you’d use whilst changing a nappy, or getting them dressed or undressed.

Our aim is to have them feeling better again as soon as possible, so that they can be comfortable, calm and relaxed, and you can get on with enjoying family life together.