The new patient consultation starts with a detailed case history which is the first stage in understanding the problem, its origin and the context of your health.  Often incidents in your past or your current lifestyle, or trauma you may not have thought of, can actually be linked to your complaint.

The next step is to assess posture, patterns of mobility and specifically the area of complaint. This often involves asking you to perform simple movements, either sitting or standing, so we can observe you in motion.  To enable this, we need to see your body work, so it is advisable to wear loose, comfortable clothing. 

Then follows a gentle examination of the joints, bones, tissues, nerve and fluid pathways and ligaments with our hands using a highly developed sense of touch called palpation.  This combines with the case history and the observation of posture to create a picture of how the body is working, gradually moving towards the very gentle osteopathic treatment process. 

The session ends with a discussion of findings, how a treatment plan will be formulated and a summary of treatment goals as outlined by the patient.

How many appointments are needed?

Every individual is different.   It is  difficult to say how many appointments will be needed to address an individual's concerns .  The goal of osteopathy is to stimulate the natural healing ability of the body. Many problems begin to respond after 3 treatments and the patient will begin to know if the approach taken is effective.  That being said, if it is a longer-standing condition, it may require more treatment. As a rule of thumb, the longer you have been experiencing the problem, the longer it may take to resolve.  Generally the patient will know after four treatments if this is an approach that they will benefit from.  If there is no improvement, then the Osteopathic practitioner will consider other options to pursue, including referring to other clinicians or professional services.