At the first meeting your osteopath will:
- Listen and ask questions about your problem, your general health, other factors that may be affecting your health, other medical treatments you are receiving or medicines you are taking and will record these in your personal records. The information you provide is confidential.
- Will ask you to do simple movements and stretches to observe your posture and mobility. He will also examine the function of joints, tissues and organs using evidence-based approaches.
- Will give you a full brief of the findings and recommend appropriate treatment which may include referral to another health professional for further examination, if necessary or a program of osteopathy and exercise. The osteopath will also explain to you the possible effects of the osteopathic treatment and the potential reactions that may occur as a result of the treatment.
The number of visits you will need depends on the problem you are dealing with as well as other biological, psychological and social factors. More specifically, the longer you've had the problem, the longer it will take to be resolved. Also, the existence of comorbidities, your age, anxiety disorders and the degree of your participation in the rehabilitation program are factors that affect the prognosis.
In general, the average number of visits an acute injury/disorder will require for objective improvements is 2-3 sessions. For a chronic problem (3 months+), the therapeutic approach is multifactorial and with a good participation on the part of the patient, 3-8 sessions will be needed over a period of 3 months.
There is no scientifically proven answer to this question. The philosophy of osteopathic assessment and diagnosis is based on finding the real cause of a musculoskeletal problem rather than focusing only on the obvious symptoms. The osteopath will deal with the holistic picture of the patient trying to identify the biomechanical or functional reasons that created the problem in the first place.
For example, pain in the lower back can in many cases come from functional dysfunctions of the hip, knee, ankle or even from diseases of the abdominal organs. In such cases, no matter how many treatments are performed in the lower back, there will be no long-term benefits. The osteopath will evaluate every possible cause and with many years of training in anatomy and physiopathology is able to assess whether your problem may be due to organ pathology and refer you to a specialist.
This depends on how complex each case is. The first session can last from 40 minutes to an hour due to taking an extensive patient case history. Subsequent sessions last an average of 30 minutes.
No. Osteopathy is indicated for people of any age and dysfunction. Depending on the patient's case, there are contraindications to specific techniques such as spinal manipulations. In these cases the osteopath will use alternative techniques that achieve the same result.
