What is Osteopathy?

Osteopathy is a primary care profession, focusing on the diagnosis, treatment, prevention and rehabilitation of musculoskeletal disorders and the effects of these conditions on your general health.

We seek to restore the optimal functioning of the body, where possible without the use of drugs or surgery. Osteopathy is based on the principle that the body has the ability to heal itself and osteopathic care focuses on strengthening the musculoskeletal system to treat existing conditions and to prevent illness.

How does it differ from other treatments?

Our patient centred approach to health and wellbeing means we consider your symptoms together with your full medical history, taking into account lifestyle and personal circumstances. It is a whole body approach to health care; we don’t simply concentrate on treating the problem area, but use manual techniques to correct and balance the different body systems in order to provide overall good health and well-being. This holistic approach ensures that all treatment is tailored to you as an individual.

As osteopaths, we address the underlying cause of your presenting condition and not just your symptoms. The key to preventing problems from recurring, and to developing long-term solutions, is for us to work together to increase your awareness of the causes of your problem and help you understand, and take responsibility for your own health. We do this in many ways, including:

Helping you become more aware of postural problems and how to correct them e.g. through exercise;
Identifying causative factors of a your symptoms, such as driving position or workstation set-up and trying to reduce/eliminate them;
Providing you with an individually tailored exercise programme to aid rehabilitation and prevention of further injury;
Addressing any areas of your body which are compensating for the original injury;
Teaching you stress management techniques.