What to expect
First of all the osteopath will take a full medical history. You will also need to complete and sign a consent form. They will then perform an examination, for which you may have to remove some of your clothing to allow a proper assessment. If you feel uncomfortable about this, you may bring a pair of shorts and a t-shirt to change into before your assessment. Shorts are also available on request.
As pain in one area can be caused by problems in another, resulting in 'referred' pain, this may require a more extensive examination, but this should all be explained at the time.
Also, quite often, problems causing symptoms in one part of the body are triggered by poor function in another area, where pain has not been experienced. That area would also require treatment to avoid a recurrence of the existing problem.
You will them be asked to perform a series of movements so that the mobility of your body can be evaluated. The osteopath will also perform various passive movements to your joints, and use their highly developed sense of touch, in conjunction with all the other information which has been gleaned, to arrive at a diagnosis and treatment plan.
In most cases, some sort of treatment will be started on your first visit, but subsequent visits will be inevitably be much more 'treatment orientated'.
The osteopath should then be able to have a reasonable idea of the number of treatments that would be required. However, there are always situations and circumstances that can change the course of events......
If the osteopath is concerned about the presence of a
more serious underlying condition, the patient may be referred to their
doctor for further investigations.
For your information, you can view the following documents as PDFs. Just click on the images below:
Medical History Questionnaire
It may save time if you print this form and complete prior to your appointment.
Click here to open PDF
