What to expect during your first osteopathy appointment
Your first appointment will be 45 minutes long but may run to 1 hour so please leave time for up to an hour as generally we like to ensure some treatment is given if appropriate. There will be a detailed medical history, which will include questions about your general health and lifestyle as well as asking you about the symptoms or injuries that you are seeking help with. This case history is necessary if you are a new patient so that we may screen you for more sinister causes behind your pain. If we suspect there is something else causing your symptoms we will ask you to visit your GP for further tests.
We will then perform a physical examination which will involve the osteopath touching the areas of your body that are experiencing pain and ask you to move around. We will usually ask you to remove some clothing, so that they can see and touch the areas of the body causing concern. If you are uncomfortable undressing to your underwear please bring shorts and t-shirt, or close fitting garments, that will enable us to work effectively without making you feel uncomfortable. You are welcome to bring a friend or family member with you into the examination room if this puts you at ease.
We will make a diagnosis and discuss a course of treatment with you. You will be advised on the treatment we can provide along with suitable exercises and maybe lifestyle changes. If the osteopath believes that your condition would not be improved with osteopathic treatment they will refer you to your GP or another suitably qualified professional and may provide you with notes explaining their diagnosis and why they feel osteopathic treatment would not help you.
If at any time you change your mind about treatment or feel uncomfortable please make us aware and we will stop the treatment.
We aim to make treatment as painless as possible, but you may experience some discomfort during and after treatment. We will tell you if a particular treatment we are about to use could cause discomfort and will stop the technique at any time if you request it. We can always use a different technique or approach if you are in considerable discomfort.
Following treatment about half of patients report some mild soreness in the area of their body that was treated, this can usually be relieved with an over the counter pain killer and will go away within 48 hours. If you experience serious or unusual symptoms after treatment you should contact your osteopath straight away for advice.
