What is Osteopathy
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05.05.26
Osteopathy is a primary healthcare model concerned with musculoskeletal disorders that uses manual techniques to assess and treat the human body. A guiding principle of Osteopathy is that the human body has innate health and that functional issues within the musculoskeletal system (the bones, ligaments, tendons, muscles, connective tissues and nerves of your body) can inhibit the natural health of the person. Osteopaths assess the health or function of the physical body and diagnose root causes of pain or discomfort using different movements or positions. They treat using their hands to loosen joints, improve blood flow and reduce sensitisation to encourage the optimal function of the body without the use of invasive surgery or drugs.
Osteopathy is applied holistically, meaning dysfunction within the MSK system is assessed in the context of the whole person and in the course of treatment recommendations such as exercise or addressing lifestyle factors are likely to be made.
Osteopathy is recognised as an Allied Health Profession by the NHS, with Osteopaths recognised as experts in the safe assessment and diagnosis of MSK conditions. Osteopathy is legally regulated, requiring at minimum a Bachelor’s degree and registration with the regulator to practice, ensuring safety and adherence to practice standards. Osteopathic treatment is recommended for conditions like back pain, neck pain and headaches by NICE guidelines (the people who recommend care modalities to your GP based on current evidence).
So… what does an Osteopath do?
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05.05.26
An Osteopath will work in a lot of ways that are similar to any other health professional (such as a Chiropractor or Physiotherapist) you might see, and some that are slightly different. Like Physiotherapists or Chiropractors Osteopaths are concerned with pain or dysfunction within the musculoskeletal system, they can help with some conditions like IBS or period pain but they are not the person to see for health issues such as the flu or pathologies such as cancer or heart disease.
An appointment with an Osteopath will begin with them taking a case history, to understand the condition that has brought the patient in (known as the presenting condition). This case history will help the Osteopath determine the area of pain or dysfunction, the severity of the problem, how long it has been there for and the likely cause. During this part of the consultation the practitioner is looking out for any signs of serious pathology that might be causing the problem. This is also when the Osteopath will get to know you and understand how the presenting condition is affecting your life or ability to do the things you want to do.
Following the case history an Osteopath will carry out a physical examination or assessment. This may involve the removal of some clothing depending on the location of pain and the outfit worn to the appointment. Although this assessment will be informed by the case history the Osteopath may want to assess seemingly unrelated parts of the body, this is due to the understanding of anatomy, function and biomechanics the Osteopath has. For instance you may think you have a shoulder problem but your case history may point to an issue in your neck not your shoulder.
Once an assessment has been completed any health professional will most likely deliver a diagnosis and some kind of prognosis based on what they've found. Treatment will then probably depend on who you've gone to see (although it should be tailored to suit you) and within Osteopathy this can take several forms.
Osteopaths tend to separate themselves in to two distinct groups based on the way they approach problems within the musculoskeletal system:
1 Cranial Osteopathy - very gentle techniques rooted in a very in-depth understanding of anatomy, more likely to involve a course of treatment and less self care.
2 Structural Osteopathy - more robust techniques, based more directly on the results of the assessment, that might involve safe manipulations and more self care (home exercises etc).
In our Redland clinic Jasper practices Structural Osteopathy, with a strong bias towards soft tissue techniques. Although any treatment is guided by the findings of an assessment this means he tends towards massage and assisted stretching in his treatments, as an evidence based practitioner Jasper also utilises his S&C coaching and Physiotherapy experience to give exercises and/or lifestyle advice as part of his treatments. Joint mobilisations and manipulations are also used by Jasper when indicated by his assessment, these are the sort of techniques you might have seen on social media involving a very short, sudden movement of a joint that might produce a popping noise just like when you crack your knuckles. These techniques are safe and have been found to be effective in many types of pain, especially in back and neck pain.