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Frequently Asked Questions
Quick Links to
questions answered below (scroll down):
What happens at my initial
consultation?
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Your first consultation may take up to 90 minutes and starts with a detailed
discussion of the problem or problems you want our help with. In most cases this
will start with us asking you about your symptoms and details such as how the
problem came about and any treatment you have received. A proportion of our
patients are children so for them these discussions take place with a parent or
guardian, involving the child as appropriate. We will also ask you about your
health in general, your past health (including a history of any accidents and
operations for example) and other treatment you are receiving (such as
medication you take). All of this information helps us to identify the cause of
your symptoms and decide whether osteopathy is the best approach to treatment
for you. It also enables us to advise you about ways you can help yourself. Some
patients come without symptoms for an appraisal of their health from an
osteopathic point of view, and we are pleased to be able to do this; in these
circumstances discussions are centred on general health and past history. It is
often particularly relevant for us to have details of a child's birth history
for our younger patients when this is available.
The initial consultation then proceeds to an osteopathic examination, which in
most cases includes an assessment of your posture, ease and restriction of
movement of various parts of your body and an analysis of the flexibility and
pliability (or lack of it) of your body tissues, such as muscles ligaments and
other "connective tissues".
The exact format and sequence of examination is largely determined by what we
have found out in the preceding discussion, but in most cases we ask our
patients to undress to underwear to be examined as an osteopath needs to be able
to see subtleties of contour and of movement to make an accurate assessment of a
patient's problems and what needs to be done in treatment to help overcome them.
The need for a postural examination may not be immediately apparent in, for
example, a case of headache, however the mechanical demands placed on the neck
from a postural fault in the lower spine may be an important factor which needs
to be taken into account. Similarly, a painful knee or ankle may be partly due
to abnormal loading because of imperfect posture or flexibility in the spine. As
osteopaths we take a "total body" view in analysing our patients' problems and
depending on what we find we may need to treat mechanical problems quite remote
from a painful area as part of an overall approach to treatment.
An important aspect of examination is the osteopath's refined sense of touch, so
during the examination we use our hands to read the state of flexibility and
pliability of various areas of your body. For the most part this will be gentle
and, although perhaps unfamiliar to a patient attending for the first time, not
normally an unpleasant experience. We will only proceed through each stage of
examination with your agreement, and will gladly arrange to continue examination
at a subsequent appointment is requested to do so. Most of our patients are
content to be examined without a chaperon(e) being present but all patients are
welcome to bring a friend or relative with them if they wish, or we can arrange
for a staff member to be present by prior arrangement. It is usual for a parent
or guardian to be present during the examination and treatment of children under
the age of 16 years.
Depending on what you have told us about your problem and other aspects of your
health at the beginning of your consultation we may carry out various tests
similar to those performed by family doctors, such as testing reflexes, using a
stethoscope to listen to your heart and lungs, taking your blood pressure etc.
In some cases it may be necessary to obtain X-rays, scans or blood tests to help
us reach a diagnosis; we have arrangements with local private hospitals for all
of these investigations, or alternatively, with your permission, we will liase
with your family doctor.
Once we have thoroughly analysed your case we will explain our diagnosis and
whether we consider osteopathic treatment can overcome or help alleviate the
problem(s). If so we will also explain the approach to treatment we propose.
Provided you wish us to we will usually conclude your first appointment with
whatever treatment is appropriate for that day.
What is treatment like?(menu)
All treatment provided at Nottingham Osteopaths is "hands on", that is to say no
equipment is used in treatment. The osteopaths all favour the use of very gentle
techniques and for the most part treatment is a pleasant and comfortable
experience.
An underlying principle in all osteopathic practice is that our bodies endeavour
to overcome their own problems, but that at times they cannot achieve this
without assistance. The gentle approaches we adopt are guided, moment by moment,
by a highly developed sense of touch which is constantly used to monitor the
treatment and guide what is done next. As mentioned in the section "What happens
at my initial consultation" many patients' problems are a combination of minor
yet significant mechanical disorders in more than one part of the body, some of
which they are unaware of in everyday life, but which combine and add up to
cause symptoms. On-going monitoring means that the "hands on" treatment is
adapted specifically to the immediate needs of each patient moment by moment and
from treatment to treatment.
Because treatment requires adjustment and adaptations to occur during the few
days after a treatment session symptoms may be temporarily more noticeable, or
may change characteristics during the 48 hours or so after being treated.
Provided it is not extreme or too long lasting this is considered to be a
common/normal part of the course of treatment.
How many treatments
will I need and how often?(menu)
The number and frequency of treatments varies considerably depending on the
problem and so it is difficult to generalise. Factors such as how long you have
had the problem, the original cause, factors in your everyday life and how well
you respond to treatment all play a part. Most patients with well established
problems need a course of a number of treatments and in these cases it is
unusual for us to treat them more often than once per week - often less
frequently than this. Patients with very recent "acute" problems may be treated
more frequently, and in these cases fewer treatments are generally necessary.
Although we may recommend a course of treatment patients are never asked to
commit themselves to treatment they do not want, and you are always free to
discontinue treatment at any time.
Do I need to be referred for osteopathic treatment by my general practitioner?
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No, many patients consult us (and other osteopaths) without their family
doctor's referral. Private Health Insurers may, however, require you to have
been referred to one of us by your general practitioner before your initial
consultation as a condition of your Health Insurance Scheme. Please contact your
insurer to ascertain the details and conditions of your cover (see section "How
much does it cost?")
Will
you contact my general practitioner?
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We will not normally contact your family doctor, but if there is a particular
need to do so, such as to obtain results of tests you have undergone in the past
or to refer you to your doctor for a medical opinion or further investigations,
we will do so with your approval. We are very pleased to write to our patients'
family doctors to keep them informed about their condition if we are asked to do
so.
How much does it
cost?(menu)
Our current scale of fees is : Initial Consultation £45 Subsequent treatments
£31
Although between 60 & 90 minutes is usually allocated for an initial
consultation and 30 minutes for subsequent treatments, fees are per appointment
which may take more or less time than this. Fees may be paid at each
consultation. Or, at the discretion of your osteopath, by account. Accounts are
due and payable immediately on submission. At least one of the osteopaths at
Nottingham Osteopaths is listed as a recognised practitioner by all the major
private health insurers. Please consult your policy documents and your insurer
or scheme organiser for details of your cover and conditions.
What is cranial
osteopathy?(menu)
As outlined in the “what happens at my initial consultation” section, as osteopaths we take a ‘total body’ approach to our patients’ problems, and this includes the head.
Although not immediately apparent, small amounts of movement occur in the human skull, mainly at joints known as sutures. Disturbance of these small tolerances of movement, either in terms of distortions or restrictions of movement, may give rise to symptoms locally or, because of mechanical inter-connections, nervous system or circulatory system effects, more remotely.
The term ‘cranial osteopathy’ is to an extent misleading as it implies that examination and treatment is confined to the head which is not the case; rather that the head is included in the osteopathic ‘total body’ evaluation and, depending on what is found may be treated in the context of this total body approach. As mentioned elsewhere, the practitioners at Nottingham Osteopaths all favour the use of very gentle techniques which are equally applicable to the head and other parts of the body.
How does
osteopathy differ from chiropractic and physio?
(menu)
coming soon...
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