Your Osteopathy Appointment: What Should You Expect?

What Should You Expect from Your Osteopathy Appointment?

As a first time patient, an osteopathy appointment may be an intimidating experience. You may be unsure of what exactly will happen during the treatment, worried about how much it may – or may not – hurt, and be in the dark on how the typical process works.

Let’s walk you through the key questions new patients and osteopathy students studying at the London School of Osteopathy have about the osteopathy appointment and add more context to this form of musculoskeletal care.

What happens in an osteopathy appointment?

Each licensed osteopath will have their own methods and specific process when it comes to how they approach their appointments, but you’ll likely find that the general structure will be similar.

Firstly, most osteopathy appointments will start with a consultation. A chance for the practitioner to understand your condition, symptoms, and medical history in detail. At this point, an osteopath may ask about:

• Any medication you’re taking
  • Your lifestyle
  • How long you’ve experienced symptoms
  • Any previous injuries or surgeries
  • Your occupation and daily physical activity levels

Following this consultation, an osteopath will then begin their examination and start by asking you to perform some light movements to assess the issues and likely cause of the pain, stiffness, or discomfort you may be feeling. They may then examine your joints, tissues, and ligaments to assess their health, using their hands to feel for the wide range of conditions osteopathy can help with.

From this examination and consultation, the osteopath will then proceed to detail their thoughts and provide a diagnosis, using their findings from the examination to explain the potential reason behind your medical issue, and suggesting a treatment plan from there.

Depending on your diagnosis, the osteopath will then implement the appropriate technique to treat and provide relief for your ailment. These techniques can range from:

• Massaging
  • Stretching
  • Joint manipulation
  • Thrusts (quick, sharp movements to the spine)

All of these techniques are designed to reduce pain, restore movement, and encourage blood flow to problem areas to improve circulation and healing.

Following this, your osteopathy appointment will conclude, with your osteopath suggesting follow-up sessions if they deem your condition needs it.

How long is an osteopathy appointment?

On average, your first osteopathy appointment will last around 45 minutes to an hour. This gives appropriate time for consultation, examination, diagnosis, and treatment, without overwhelming your body.

Generally, follow-up appointments will be a bit shorter, as after an osteopath has built a relationship with you and an understanding of your condition, there’ll be less time required for consultation and working out what you need.

Does osteopathy treatment hurt?

It’s believed that osteopathy treatment is generally not a painful experience. In fact, many patients have reported that they experience instant relief of pain following an osteopathy appointment.

This is just one of the many benefits of osteopathy you can expect from an appointment.

That said, some patients can experience mild soreness or stiffness for a few days after the treatment, especially if treatment included a massage or intense stretching.

If at any point during an osteopathy appointment you do feel pain, make sure to let your osteopath know so that they can adjust their technique.

Do you need to remove clothing in an osteopathy appointment?

Depending on the location of pain, you may be asked to remove items of clothing so that the osteopath can examine and diagnose symptoms with higher accuracy. At our clinics, we recommend that patients arrive with a vest and shorts to change into if needed.

You’ll be offered privacy to get changed, but if you feel uncomfortable about undressing, make this clear to your osteopath before the treatment to ensure that you have a pleasant experience during your osteopathy appointment.

Will I get a diagnosis during my osteopathy appointment?

It’s highly likely that you’ll receive a diagnosis during your osteopathy appointment, especially during your first consultation as a lot of time is spent working out the root cause of your condition.

An osteopath will use many methods to reach an informed diagnosis and will talk through their findings in detail with you so that you can better understand the reasoning behind the treatment and lifestyle changes you may need to make to fix it.

On occasion, the osteopath may identify a condition beyond the scope of what can be treated by osteopathic care – or in rare cases they may not be able to reach a verdict. In these situations, an osteopath may refer you to your GP or another specialist healthcare professional to give you the treatment you need.

How often should you see an osteopath?

There’s no set frequency of how often you should see your osteopath during your treatment program. Depending on your condition, you may be advised to see an osteopath as frequently as once a week for a short period of time, or once a month over a more stretched out timeframe.

The details will be tailored to your needs and communicated to you through your osteopath during your osteopathy appointment.

To achieve a full recovery and to avoid reoccurring issues, it’s typically advised to attend 3-6 follow up sessions, so that an osteopath can assess your progress during the

recovery period. It’s very important as a patient to attend these follow-up sessions to ensure that your musculoskeletal issue is remedied and fixed permanently.

Osteopathy is designed to enhance quality of life for the long-term which means that as an osteopath, you’re building long-term relationships with your clients, making it a personal and rewarding medical profession.

If you want to benefit the lives of countless others, consider becoming an osteopath yourself. Learn more about the entry requirements for enrolling in an osteopathy programme and joining a profession dedicated to improving lives, one appointment at a time. Choose to complete either a Master of Osteopathy (MOst) or a Bachelor of Osteopathy (BOst) to qualify as an independent practitioner upon graduation.

Study at the London School of Osteopathy

Why not start your journey to becoming an osteopath with LSO? If you’re passionate about helping others and drawn to hands-on healthcare, osteopathy could be the perfect fit. It’s a rewarding profession that makes a real difference in people’s lives – and it all starts with the right training.

Apply Now for full-time or part-time study and take the first step to become a qualified osteopath.