Osteopathy is a holistic approach to treating people. We treat all people from young
babies to the elderly. Each person is individual, has their own history and current
circumstances. They may also suffer from a variety of conditions, such as back or
neck pain, headaches or limb injuries, that bring them to the osteopath. We treat
the whole person with the condition, rather than only treating the symptoms. We
encourage people to be more healthy, and are keen on self-help and preventative health-care.
As Osteopaths we do treat people with physical manipulation, massage or gentle releasing
(‘cranial’) techniques; however this is only part of the overall treatment or therapy.
We may give exercises, encourage postural awareness, discuss nutrition and diet,
consider workplace ergonomics, explain how stress can affect the body, and in dancers
suggest improvements to technique etc.. There are many factors that affect individual
people so our approach to diagnosis and treatment attempts to understand the whole
picture. If necessary we may suggest a referral to another practitioner or the patient’s
GP, however usually we are able to help people in a few consultations.