Whilst many other health professionals, including GPs, consultants, health visitors and midwives recommend osteopaths you do not require a referral for treatment. Osteopaths are primary health care practitioners, trained in clinical diagnosis so do not require a doctor's diagnosis in order to treat. However some private health insurance companies require a GP or consultant referral before treatment depending on the policy.
Babies can be treated from newborn as the techniques used are very gentle . Most babies find the treatment very relaxing and may even fall asleep during treatment.
No, the treatment is not normally painful when performed by our qualifed and registered osteopaths. If you feel any pain or discomfort during treatment we would encourage you to mention this so treatment can be modified to make it more comfortable. Some post treatment soreness may be experienced for 24 hours after treatment while the body is adapting to its new postion and relaxed state. At your treatment we will explain how to keep symptoms to a minimum post treatment.
All osteopaths are required to complete a 4 or 5 year training course including over 1000 hours of clinical experience before they can become registered. Osteopathy was the first complementary healthcare profession to be awarded statutory regulation by the government. From 1999 Osteopath became a protected title, legally only being used by those who have undergone the necessary training to be a safe and effective practitioner.
Osteopathy has one of the best safety records of any medically related profession. An osteopath is trained to recognise any condition that may make osteopathic treatment inadvisable so that a patient may be referred for appropriate medical intervention when necessary. In the same way that a family doctor would regard safelty as the most important factor in selecting appropriate medication for a patient, an osteopath would also select the most appropriate style of treatment suitable for that particular patient and condition.