Osteopathy

Osteopathy is most commonly used to treat conditions caused by problems with the nerves, joints and muscles such as:

 •  Arthritic pain
 •  Muscle spasms
 •  Inability to relax
 •  Aches and Pains
 •  Digestion problems
 •  Plantar fasciitis
 •  Adhesive Capsulitis (frozen shoulder)
 •  Minor sports injuries
 •  Osteoarthritis of the Hip/Knee
 •  Acute/Chronic Neck pain
 •  Rheumatic pain
 •  Migraine
 •  Joint pains
 •  Tennis elbow (Lateral epicondylitis)
 •  Acute low back pain
 •  Neck related headaches or Dizziness (cervicogenic)
 •  Knee pain
 •  Fibromyalgia
 •  Whiplash Associated disorders
 •  Circulatory problems
 •  Shoulder girdle pain
 •  Sciatica
 •  Cramp
 •  Chronic low back pain
 •  Neuralgia

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) offers recommendations to the NHS for the treatment and care of people with specific conditions. In 2009, NICE issued clinical guidelines for "Early management of persistent non-specific low back pain". Their recommendations included Manual Therapy - "consider offering a course of manual therapy, including spinal manipulation [as performed by Osteopaths], comprising up to a maximum of nine sessions over a period of up to 12 weeks".

It is possible to be referred for Osteopathic treatment on the NHS - speak to your GP about this.

Your first visit to the Osteopath will take 15-20 minutes longer than a normal treatment, to give time to take a full clinical/medical history and enable the Osteopath to make a diagnosis about your condition. Treatment options will be given and with your agreement, treatment can be started on the first session.

It is usual to undress (down to underwear) to allow the Osteopath to fully assess your posture, spinal and joint alignment and to assess muscle and skin condition. You may be asked to perform certain movements to demonstrate the range of movement you have.

Your Osteopath will assess your spine in more detail, usually with you lying on a treatment couch, and perform movements throughout the spine to check for restrictions and areas of tenderness.

Osteopaths commonly stretch, massage and move the body in a variety of ways using a mixture of gentle and forceful techniques designed to reduce pain and swelling, improve movement and encourage the movement of blood to and from tissues and organs.

If you are uncomfortable being undressed, or prefer a chaperone to be present during treatment, please speak to your Osteopath who will try to accomodate your needs.

In 2010, Bronfort and colleagues produced a report "Effectiveness of manual therapies: the UK evidence report". The purpose of this report was to provide a comprehensive summary of the scientific evidence regarding the effectiveness of manual treatment for the management of a variety of musculoskeletal and non-musculoskeletal conditions.

Their conclusions noted that "Spinal manipulation/mobilization is effective in adults for: acute, subacute, and chronic low back pain; migraine and cervicogenic headache; cervicogenic dizziness; manipulation/mobilization is effective for several extremity joint conditions; and thoracic manipulation/mobilization is effective for acute/sub-acute neck pain. Massage is effective in adults for chronic low back pain and chronic neck pain."

In 2006, Anderson and colleagues produced a report "A Comparison of Selected Osteopathic Treatment and Relaxation for Tension-Type Headaches". They concluded that "the people in this study who did relaxation exercises and received 3 osteopathy treatments had significantly more days per week without headache than those who did only relaxation exercises".

In a 2005, Licciardone and colleagues produced a report "Osteopathic manipulative treatment for low back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials". Their meta-analysis and systematic review of six randomized controlled trials of osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) that involved blinded assessments of lower back pain in ambulatory settings, concluded that OMT significantly reduces lower back pain, and that the level of pain reduction is greater than expected from placebo effects alone and persists for at least three months.

Osteopathy was founded by Andrew T. Still, an American doctor. Still was dissatisfied with the orthodox medicines of the time. He was an Army surgeon in the American Civil War and had lost most of his children to infectious diseases. In 1892, he founded the first school of osteopathy, in Kirksville, Missouri. The first osteopathic college outside the USA, the British School of Osteopathy, was founded by a Scottish medical practitioner who had been a student of Still's, Dr. Martin Littlejohn.

In the U.S.A. osteopaths are also medical doctors. Outside of the United States, osteopathy has been considered a form of complementary medicine, emphasizing a holistic approach and the skilled use of a range of manual and physical treatment interventions in the prevention and treatment of disease.

In practice, this most commonly relates to musculoskeletal problems such as back and neck pain. Osteopathic principles teach that treatment of the musculoskeletal system (bones, muscles and joints) aids the healing powers of the body.

In the U.K, the Osteopathic profession is regulated by the government and it is illegal to claim to be an osteopath, unless fully trained and registered with the General Osteopathic Council.

You may have tried to use heat or cold packs already, but let your Osteopath know, since sometimes you may be using these on the wrong areas of your body.

Joint problems can have swelling/inflammation causing pain, and sometimes using a cold pack (gel pack, frozen peas etc.) can reduce this swelling and make an area more comfortable. However, using an ice pack for too long, or in the wrong places, can cause more harm than good.

Heat (gel pack, bath, shower, hot water bottle etc.) can help to increase blood flow in an area, and this may be useful for muscular injuries or aches as healing may be speeded up. Again, you should discuss this with your Osteopath, as heat over an inflamed joint may actually make the situation worse.

Remember that pain is often a warning sign from your body, so shouldn't be ignored. If you are over-exerting yourself during exercise, the muscles may become strained. If you have a joint problem and overwork the surrounding muscles this may lead to instability in the joints and could increase your pain or symptoms.

Let your Osteopath know which exercises you are performing, and make any advised adjustments.

You will sometimes be given exercises to follow in between treatment sessions. These are very important, and can help to progress the effects of treatment. You should allocate enough time during the day to perform these exercises - e.g. take 15 minutes out of your working day (work 15 minutes later if necessary), as well as making time in the morning and evening to complete all the exercises (usually daily).

You may be asked not to start exercises until a day or two after treatment (depending on how much manual treatment you received).

Many health insurance companies offer payments to cover at least part of the cost of physical therapies like Osteopathy. However, BUPA requires that therapists have been qualified for at least 5 years, so check with your therapist before having treatment that you are covered.

The therapists at Absolute Health clinic are covered by the main insurance companies and health cash schemes (excluding BUPA) - including Aviva, AXA/PPP and Simply Health (HSA).