The benefits:

Before we start to treat you, we will make a take a full medical history. We take time to listen to you and ask questions to make sure we understand your medical history and your day-to-day routine. We'll ask you about things like diet, exercise and what is happening in your life, as these may give clues to help our diagnosis. We may feel your pulse and check your reflexes. We may also take your blood pressure and refer you for clinical tests, such as x-rays, if we think you need them.

We usually access your posture and your range of movement. We may also perform non weight bearing 'passive range of movement' to access the quality of motion within the affected area.

Using touch, we may also find the areas which are sensitive or tight and this helps us to identify what's going on. When we have done this, we can diagnose your condition. We may sometimes feel that osteopathy is not appropriate for you and refer you to your GP or another specialist such as an orthopaedic surgeon.

Osteopaths use a wide range of gentle manipulations, depending on your age, fitness and diagnosis. Treatment is different for every patient but may include techniques such as different types of soft tissue massage and joint articulation to release tension, stretch muscles, help relieve pain and mobilise your joints. Occasionally when needed we move joints and you may hear a 'click'. This is just like the click people get when they crack their knuckles. Please note this is a very gentle manouver and does not have to be performed on every patient, especially those who prefer not to have it.

We may also discuss exercises that you can do to improve your posture and movement in your workplace and everyday life.