County Osteopaths : Osteopathy for Adults

We can assess and treat any joint in your body, literally from your head to your toes. You may have assumed that you have to live with pain or tension but maybe Osteopathy can help.

In the UK all qualified osteopaths have DO (Diploma in Osteopathy – the four-year course completed before 1992), or BSc (Ost) (Degree in Osteopathy – the four-year course completed during or after 1992) or similar, after their names. Osteopaths will have had a minimum of four years full time or six years mixed-attendance-mode training. In May 2000 the Osteopaths Act came into effect to maintain standards within the profession. Since that date no-one has been allowed to practice as an osteopath unless they are registered with the General Osteopathic Council (GOsC). You can only register if you have either completed a recognized training course after 2000 or trained before 2000 and undergone testing to

show competence. Osteopathy was the first profession of “complementary” therapists to achieve statutory regulation.

Cranial Osteopathy is taught alongside all other types of osteopathy at undergraduate level with further skills developed by experience and through post-graduate courses.

Please see the section entitled About Us to see how each of us has trained.

Accidents, surgery or repeated illness can leave you with poor circulation locally and tension that you may feel unable to relax. Osteopathic treatment may improve the local circulation and free up tension thereby enabling you to recover faster and more fully.

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At the initial consultation a case-history is taken, structural examinations and simple tests are carried out as necessary and the first treatment is given.

During the consultation adults and older children will be asked to undress down to their underwear whilst the osteopath checks posture, assesses body movements and gives the treatment.

At the end of the consultation advice and / or exercises are explained and we will discuss with you what to expect for the next few days and when (or whether) you should come back.

At follow-up sessions there is a review of symptoms followed by treatment, advice and review of exercises, where necessary.

For babies and children under 16 years of age the process is almost the same except that a parent (or someone acting in loco parentis) must remain in the treatment room throughout the consultation. Advice and explanations are given to the parent up to the age where the child is old enough to understand their own health.

Be assured that, because most people come to see an Osteopath without first having consulted their doctor, Osteopaths are extensively trained in spotting potentially serious symptoms so that no hidden problem escapes attention.

When we experience physical (or even mental) stresses and strains our body tissues may tighten up and, even after the stresses have passed, a lasting tension may remain. This tension may restrict your body’s free movement perhaps gradually leading to pain and discomfort that seems to have occured “for no reason”.

Osteopathic treatment may help with pain and tension even if it has been there a long time.

What’s more, most people find treatment a pleasant experience, coming away feeling more comfortable and relaxed.

Osteopathy is an effective treatment for pain and discomfort relating to the body’s framework. This includes back and neck pain, sciatica, sports injuries, shoulder problems, arthitic pain, muscle tension and spasm, neuralgia and various types of headache and migraine. Osteopathy may also help you to relax.

Osteopaths use deep massage, joint release techniques, stetching, cranial osteopathy, dry needling, postural advice and exercises to help you with your symptoms. Most people find treatment enjoyable and relaxing.

Many people who see an Osteopath do so because of back or neck pain.

NICE (the National Institute for Clinical Excellence) guidelines recommend manual therapies such as osteopathy for the treatment of low back pain.

see our FAQs section.

Pain is a warning signal that something is wrong, its the body's natural defense mechanism to alert you to a problem.

Osteopaths are extensively trained in assessing the neuromusculoskeletal* system to aid diagnosis of the cause of pain in the body’s frame.

An accurate assessment then allows us to choose a treatment plan for you which will give the best chance of helping you with your pain.

If we think you are unsuitable for osteopathic treatment we will tell you so, explain why and recommend other avenues you might try (this may include refering you to your GP).

*nerves, joints, bones and “soft tissues” including muscles, tendons and connective tissue etc..