What can you expect on your first visit
Consultation and Examination
A warm and friendly welcome is guaranteed at Movement for Health whether it’s your first time visiting us or your hundredth!
Osteopaths are Allied Health Practitioners and Osteopathy is recognised as a way of treating back pain in accordance with the NICE guidelines.
Choosing Osteopathy
We appreciate that for some people it is a massive step choosing osteopathy, so it is our aim to put you at ease the minute you step through the door.
Every member of the clinic is here to assist you in any way they can. During your initial consultation with our fully qualified osteopath it is their aim to put you at ease and identify the source if your issue as quickly as possible by asking the relevant questions.
Once the osteopath has a clear understanding of the issue, they will undertake an in-depth examination to establish the source of your pain.
At this stage you may be asked to undress, possibly down to your underwear, to enable the osteopath to examine you thoroughly. Please feel free to bring shorts or a vest top if you are uncomfortable with this.
Please be assured that as this stage the osteopath will be completely honest with you. So, on the extremely rare occasions they cannot help they will ensure a referral is made to the appropriate specialist or to your GP.
Report of Findings
This follow up appointment is where your osteopath will provide you with an individualised written report outlining their findings from the initial consultation and examination. They will answer the four main questions every patient needs to hear the answers to:
What is wrong?
How can you help me?
How much will it cost?
How long will it take?
We will also provide you with a personalised treatment plan, which will include the recommended number of treatments required to alleviate the problem, home care advice including tips to help you on your way to better health that little bit quicker and any appropriate exercises you can do at home.
We will ensure you have understood the advice we have given, ask if you have any questions and providing you are happy we will commence with your first full treatment to start you on the road to recovery.
What to expect during your treatment
Firstly, please be assured treatments will not be painful! There can be some discomfort initially but as the sessions go on, we find patients enjoy the whole experience.
We regularly see people that come to us in agony and it is amazing what can be achieved quite quickly with adjustments and careful movement/stretching. We constantly hear “well I didn’t think you’d be able to move me as much as that”! By removing gravity and muscle contraction a lot is possible!
During your treatment, your osteopath will be using their hands to detect and correct any underlying issues they find. This will help to restore your body’s normal function which will help your body heal itself.
We will only use techniques appropriate to your case which includes joint mobilisation, muscle energy techniques (MET), soft tissue, cranial, functional techniques – balanced ligamentous tension (BLT) all with the aim of improving joint mobility, reducing muscle tension, improving blood flow, reducing nerve interference (sympathetic) and enhancing relaxation (para-sympathetic tone).
We will also provide you with advice on how to improve your health including nutritional advice together with exercises to do at home to aid your recovery.
We have found that after their initial treatment most patients experience positive changes immediately when they get off the treatment table. More chronic/severe cases may take longer before a more noticeable benefit is felt.
Movement for Health
THINK WELL, MOVE WELL, BE WELL