Before starting to treat you, osteopaths make a full medical assessment. They take time to listen to you and ask questions to make sure they understand your medical history and your day-to-day routine. You will be asked about things like diet, exercise and what is happening in your life, as these may give clues to help the diagnosis.
They may feel your pulse and check your reflexes. They may also take your blood pressure and refer you for clinical tests, such as x-rays, if it is thought you need them.
They usually look at your posture and how you move your body and may also assess what happens when they move it for you and see what hurts, where and when.
Using touch, they may also find the points which are sensitive or tight and this helps to identify what the problems are. When this is done, your condition can be diagnosed.
Osteopaths use a wide range of gentle manipulations, depending on your age, fitness and diagnosis. These techniques include different types of soft tissue massage and joint articulation, to release tension, help relieve pain and mobilise your joints.
The most common conditions that we treat are:
- Back and neck pain
- Shoulder and arm problems
- Pelvis, hip and leg problems
- Sports and other injuries