Osteopathy Surrey

Yes, Osteopaths are recognised by the NHS and regulated in the UK. They are identified as Primary healthcare practitioners and allied healthcare practitioners.

However, only a few Osteopaths work in the NHS. Most work in private practice. Some NHS trusts have specific positions for Osteopaths and frequently more trusts that have roles advertised where Osteopaths can apply alongside others, i.e. physiotherapists.

Osteopaths are known for treating you as a whole person rather than just focusing on a specific area. This is reflected in the comprehensive consultation, which includes lifestyle, medical history, work and home life, health check as well as your presenting complaint. 

This informs our overall and detailed examination of your posture, movement patterns and appropriate testing, e.g. Orthopaedic, neurological, or cardiovascular.

We then treat the area(s) of dysfunction or imbalance associated with your presenting complaint and overall health. We do this through a range of techniques which is supported by providing a rehabilitation program. This programme helps you continue your recovery between visits. 

As your Osteopath, we will be on hand to discuss pain management and to reassure you.

Yes. As part of our 4-year full-time degree, we are trained to diagnose a range of muscle/bone and joint conditions and to recognise other illnesses (for which we would refer).

In our opinion, yes, but we are, of course, biased. As with any profession, you will have practitioners across both professions that are better than others and some that are not quite right for you. An osteopath will often provide a more rounded approach working on the person and providing advice and rehabilitation rather than focusing on the spine; however, there will also be some Chiropractors that also treat in this way.

This is largely down to the individual practitioner and how they like to work. Traditionally a diversified chiropractor will focus on correcting subluxations (minor misalignments) of the spine to improve the functioning of the nervous system. This was often done by cracking the spine, perhaps with some massage with 5-15minutes per session with several treatments required.

Traditionally Osteopaths would treat the whole person in a longer session, incorporating a wider range of techniques (e.g. massage, stretching, rocking, joint articulations, and joint cracking) with fewer treatments normally.

As the professions have developed over the years, there is more overlap and osteopaths will often create an exercise and lifestyle program for you, discuss pain management and incorporate more evidence-based research into their osteopathic approach.

In our opinion, yes, but then we are biased.

Most of our physiotherapy colleagues are extremely professional and knowledgeable and will be able to treat anything that we can and vice versa. Osteopaths are well known for providing more hands-on work, while physios were better known for providing more exercises. These days Osteopaths also prescribe exercises, and indeed, in private practice, Physios will use more hands-on work than their colleagues in the NHS.

Yes, but we do more than just click and crack joints because you are made up of more than only one joint. We focus on you as a human and treat you as a person with an individual presentation and individual needs. Therefore a patient’s back may not be cracked every treatment and, for some, not at all.

This will range from a one-off appointment to regular maintenance treatments for life, depending on why you visited us initially and your overall health.

This ranges depending on where you are in the country. Here at Arc Osteopathy, we charge £55 for a 1-hour new patient appointment and £50 for a 30 minute follow up appointment.

Prices correct as on 4 April 2021

Yes. We undertake a four-year full-time degree with over 1000 hours of supervised face to face patient treatments in the clinic.

Our training includes clinical assessment and differential diagnosis so that we know when not to treat and when to alter our treatment of a patient or when to refer for further testing. This training is on top of our in-depth anatomy, neurology and pathology, and treatment training.

The exact treatment will be different from one osteopath to the other and from patient to patient. Still, the underlying goal is the same: to enable the patient’s body to heal itself more effectively by applying a targeted treatment to the patient.

The osteopath will undertake a thorough consultation and examination, listening to what your needs and requirements are. They will then be able to develop a treatment plan that is best for you based on your wishes, informed consent, and findings. 

The treatment (to name a few) can encompass many aspects, including:

• Hands-on treatment
• Exercise prescription
• Lifestyle advice
• Nutrition
• Pain management
• Breathing exercises
• Empathy and encouragement

Osteopaths aim to treat the person that comes to the clinic so that their condition can improve. Common reasons why patients visit include

• Back Pain
• Neck Pain
• Joint pain
• Sciatica/neuralgia
• Headaches
• Sports injuries
• Arthritis pain
• Tennis/golfers elbow
• Fibromyalgia
• Muscle spasm
• Frozen shoulder
• Work-related injuries
• Movement pattern restrictions
• Postural complaints
• For general wellbeing and health

It is best to either wear loose-fitting clothes or shorts and a vest top/tee shirt.

During the examination, you may be asked to undress down to your underwear (you will be offered a towel). For the treatment, you may be asked to redress and be treated clothed or to remain in your underwear, again with a towel if you wish.

An osteopath will help you find health, become pain-free, improve movement, reduce joint stiffness, and help you return to activities you enjoy.

Osteopathic manipulation is effective if performed correctly and at the right place, and when it is needed. Of course, osteopaths do more than just manipulate a joint during treatment as well as providing you with advice and things to do after and between treatments, and it is the combination of these elements that produce the best results.

Osteopathy is a safe and mainly gentle treatment, as most aspects of treatment do not hurt. However, some techniques can be uncomfortable, and it is quite common to feel sore and/or tender for up to 72 hours (most people only 24hrs) after a treatment.

It is quite common to have mild side effects following treatment, including feeling sore and tender. Less likely is to feel sick, but this can happen. Should you feel unwell after treatment and it persists or worsens, you should contact your osteopath for advice.

When an osteopath quickly puts a small direct force to a joint within the spine, it might produce a cracking sound which is the sound of carbon dioxide being released from the joint. When performed by an osteopath who has trained for at least three years in these techniques and then been passed safe in a formal assessment and exam, they are very safe.

This is very unlikely due to the high level of training combined with the requirement of CPD, all within a strong regulatory framework. There have very occasionally been injuries to muscles and joints, but in the main, any damage is minor and will only last a couple of days.

Yes, Osteopaths are in demand for their holistic approach to assessment, the time spent with a patient listening and understanding, and for the results in helping someone feel better.

As you can normally arrange an osteopathic appointment within a few days compared to waiting up to 3 months to see a physio on the NHS or wait a while for a spine/hip/knee/shoulder operation, it is not surprising osteopaths are in demand.

In the long and medium-term, the answer is normally no. A common side effect after treatment is soreness that can last up to 72hours but to worsen a condition is rare.

The frequency of a patient incident (one which would require medical care or causing long term damage) occurring is estimated to be 1 in 36,079 osteopathic treatments.

Common side effects following treatment are soreness of muscles and tenderness, post-treatment fatigue and headaches, most of which resolve within 24-48hours.

Osteopaths will be aware of the evidence base for treatment and will often integrate this into what they know works well for a particular patient.