Osteopathy

Osteopathy is now recognised as an effective treatment for a wide range of painful disorders. It helps restore the function of the musculo-skeletal system (joints, muscles and ligaments). The aim is to relieve pain and get you going again as quickly as possible. Patients of all ages can benefit. The treatment is tailored to suite.

Osteopathy has built a reputation for unique success in treating patients with problems that other areas of medicine may have previously failed to treat effectively. Osteopaths such as those at the Carlton Clinic, have built up Osteopathy's reputation so that now attracts more than six million consultations every year, (more than private physio, chiropractic, hospital consultant, and private doctors consultations added together).

Osteopathy is a system of medicine based upon the premise that if the body is structurally sound and correctly nourished it will function properly. In other words it will be healthy. Poor structure brings about all kinds of physiological malfunctioning which we experience as disease. Because the nerve supply from the spine controls the functioning of the entire body, impairment in the movement of joints, particularly in the spine, can set up far-reaching changes which result in organic disease.

Recently, it has been proven that the functioning of the joints in the body can directly affect nerve impulse transmissions, spinal joints are the commonest potential example of spinal interference but all joints in the body can interfere with nerve supply conduction.

Osteopaths are trained to recognise structural imperfections and restrictions in mobility which are of very small magnitude and may be ignored by 'orthodox' doctors. Sometimes these structural imperfections can be corrected by simple stretching or manipulating or the soft tissues. In other cases they require mobilising techniques for their correction. These osteopathic manoeuvres are usually gentle and seldom painful.

The osteopath sees the body as a whole; no single part being independent of the remainder. If you attend an osteopath with neck pain he will examine your entire structure and may end up manipulating the base of your spine or pelvis if he finds that this is the cause of your neck being in lesion. He may also examine your feet to ensure that a problem in the foot is not the cause of everything else that has gone wrong

Unlike most other doctors, the osteopath is able to recognise and test very small degrees of movement which are sometimes termed 'joint-play.' When osteopaths first discovered these movements in joints which were thought to be rigid, they were ridiculed. Now, medical science has itself recognised that these joints do in fact move.

What does osteopathy treat ?

Osteopathic treatment can help many musculo-skeletal conditions. These include common aches and pains or injuries caused by strains, falls or overuse. Osteopathy can also alleviate the problems associated with stress and tension including migraines and headaches as well as chronic back pain.

Osteopathy provides the most effective treatment for most musculo-skeletal problems. The amount of treatment required can vary, and the advice of your osteopath should be followed. Patients are often surprised how quickly the most serious problems can be relieved, or the recovery may take longer, or the improvement may require maintaining for a while to prevent it returning. All these depend on what the problem was, how long it has been there, the age and sex of the patient and how the patient tissues respond to treatment (which is very variable).

The vast majority of acute painful musculo-skeletal disorders (disc, joint, muscle, tendons and ligament) respond well to osteopathy. Osteopaths spend most of their time treating such things as back pain, sciatica, trapped nerves, migraine, and any physical/structural painful condition, including long standing problems with previous unsuccessful treatment to the sudden onset of unforwarned pain. No back pain is too serious for Osteopathic treatment.

High blood pressure, migraine, arthritic problems, tension headaches, asthma, skin disorders are amongst the many problems for which osteopathic treatment may be helpful. The correction of spinal lesions can relieve impairment of related nerves which may be causing malfunction of any of the visceral organs.

Adapting the approaches to all age groups is normal to osteopathic practice with 'wear and tear' arthritis problems and the elderly showing at least as good responses to osteopathy as younger patients. Osteopaths also treat successfully colic, Otitis Media, irritability, sleep and other problems in babies.

Beyond the spine and referred pains such as sciatica, osteopaths treat frozen shoulders, tennis/golfers elbow and RSI/tendon/tenonovitis, rib pain, wrist injuries, headaches and migraines, knee and ankle injuries, and all such problems around the body.

The following is a list of some of the problems treated by Osteopaths. The list is by no means complete, if you have any queries, please telephone for further advice.

Osteopathy also provides great relief for Multiple Sclerosis, Ankylosing Spondylitis, Asthma & Muscular Dystrophy

What exactly is the treatment?

Osteopathic treatment consists of gentle manipulation and stretching of the muscles, ligaments and joints. Treatment is not painful and rarely uncomfortable.

As a rule, after taking a careful history of your health problems, the osteopath will carry out a number of tests. Some of these are the same as any doctor would undertake, such as blood pressure, pulse readings. auscultating your heart, lungs of viscera, if appropriate, and testing reflexes. In addition to this he will put your spine through a range of movements, possibly at every segment.

Alternatively, he may press on your spines to see if they move or if there is any pain on movement Very often, patients are surprised to discover that there is pain on pressure on a vertebra which was giving them no problem. This is because the osteopath is moving the bone in a way that it doesn't often go. The pain is probably due to tightened ligaments and the osteopath will correct this by a quick adjustment

He will usually begin with some general stretching techniques and soft tissue
manipulation. He may mobilise a joint with gentle rocking movements. In some cases he may apply an electrical treatment or acupuncture in order to help relieve pain or imbalance or he may put you into one of a variety of positions and gently ease a locked bone back into mobility.

Some members of the British & European Osteopathic Association hold qualification in other forms of medicine and make use of acupuncture, applied kinesiology, dietary therapy, electrotherapy, herbal medicine, homeopathy, hydrotherapy. etc.. when indicated.

Guaranteed standards you have only when consulting a Registered Osteopath

Since the 1993 Osteopathic Act Osteopathy is now governed by The General Osteopathic Council, a statutory body that ensures set standards of training, ethics, practice, continual retraining, indemnity and so on for public protection from any person accredited as acceptable to use the title "Osteopath".

Doctors & Dentists are the two other primary statutory health care professions governed by The General Medical and General Dental Councils. "Secondary" orthodox healthcare professions (physiotherapists, nurses, midwives etc.), ones trained and recognised to receive patients pre-diagnosed from a primary healthcare profession, are governed for public protection by The Council for Professions Supplementary to Medicine.

Any person can instantly become a practitioner in any therapy that does not have a general council as there is no statutory nor civil legal requirements to use a therapy title description unless a general council exists. This means there may have been no training at all, no insurance, continual training ethics, and no comeback.

Consulting a Registered Osteopath ensures you all the standards of protection you would like to think are in place when you consult a registered medical professional.

Consultation: appointment by telephone 01293 784200

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