County Osteopaths : Does Osteopathy Hurt?

Osteopathic treatmnent should not hurt but you may feel sensations of pressure and stretch. A person with a more muscular, athletic build will tend to need firmer treatment, whereas a more sedentary person will require gentler handling.

We will gauge your individual needs and vary our techniques accordingly.

One method of ostepathy known as Cranial Osteopathy is generally found to be deeply relaxing to the point where patients may feel drowsy. It is used on adults for head-related complaints and chronic aches and pains and it is the only method used on babies and young chilldren. Babies who are treated with “Cranial” usually seem relaxed by it, toddlers play throughout the treatment without noticing they are being treated, and older children and adults may fall asleep.

Is Osteopathy right for me?

Osteopathy and Cranial Osteopathy are safe and effective treatments in most cases. However, as Registered Osteopaths we are highly trained and know what we can and cannot treat safely. We take time and care to make sure each person's individual needs are understood and if we cannot help you we will tell you so, explaining why and perhaps suggesingt other avenues you might try. This may include refering you to your GP.

Osteopaths’ extensive training means that they can spot conditions that may need medical help and can identify conditions which would make osteopathic treatment inappropriate or unsafe. In circumstances where medical intervention is required, the osteopath will refer the patient to his or her specialist or GP (with a letter where necessary).

After an initial period of tiredness and relaxation you may notice improvements in your symptoms straight away or, in more complex cases you may feel achey for a while with improvements following on later. In very complicated cases you may even feel slightly worse before you begin to get better. This applies to babies and children as well as to adults.

Your Osteopath will guide you as to what to expect depending on your exact condition and on your response to the treatment.

The amount of treatment required is directly related to your history i.e. how many events have contributed to the start of your problem and how long you have been suffereing it. People who are healthy and fit, make the quickest recovery.

However, we treat people of all ages, fitness levels and degrees of health so please do not feel excluded if your health is poor. Osteopathic techniques are many and varied and we alter our approach to suit the individual.

Osteopathy is a refined and precise form of manual treatment that aims to relax any tension throughout the whole body thereby restoring good movement to each and every joint. Various techniques are selected by your Osteopath to acheive the best results for you.

Techniques used vary from firm to extremely gentle and so Osteopaths may safely treat people of all ages and throughout pregnancy. Techniques may include deep massage (and other methods of muscle tension release) , passive stretching (i.e. you relax whilst your osteopath stretchs you), joint release techniques of various types, cranial osteopathy.

Osteopaths consider you from a mechanical, functional and postural viewpoint aiming to aid the body’s ability to function with a minimum of wear, stress and energy.