What do you treat?

How many sessions?

How long is a treatment session?

Will I need to undress?

Is treatment painful?

Is my problem caused by a bone out of place?

Will I feel any discomfort after the treatment?

Will I have to do home exercises?

Do you make home visits?

Do you do cranial osteopathy?

Is osteopathy officially recognised?

Are osteopaths medically qualified?

How are osteopaths different from physiotherapists and chiropractors?

What is the evidence for osteopathy?

Any more questions?

What do you treat?

The great majority of my patients consult me about musculoskeletal pain. Of these, many want help with low back pain (with or without sciatic pain) or neck pain. However, my main concern is the patient's overall state of health.

Please also read my article "Osteopathy and non-musculoskeletal conditions".

How many sessions?

For recent and uncomplicated problems, from 2 to 4 sessions. For longer term or more complicated conditions, 6 to 10 sessions initially; further checkups / maintenance sessions as indicated by individual necessity.

How long is a treatment session?

A normal treatment lasts a maximum of 30 minutes. The first consultation lasts up to one hour.

Will I need to undress?

You will need to undress sufficiently to uncover the areas which need to be examined and treated.

Is treatment painful?

Osteopathic treatment should never be painful, although some techniques may be a little uncomfortable.

Is my problem caused by a bone out of place?

Not usually, this is a wrong idea from the 19th century. Bones do not pop in and out like a cuckoo in a clock! If you are in discomfort it is usually because a tissue is stiff, strained, compressed, contracted, and/or damaged and inflammed. The problem often involves not just the painful area, but the whole body and factors in the wider environment as well. But nothing is "out" so I cannot "put it back in"! If you like to hear lots of cracks and pops, I'm afraid I'm not your man!

Will I feel any discomfort after the treatment?

Any uncomfortable secondary effects of treatment should be mild and short-lived (half a day to two days). The most common side effect is a mild increase in the existing symptoms after the first treatment. This will not happen however if the existing symptoms are acute. Another frequent side-effect is a temporary feeling of tiredness. Drinking lots of still natural mineral water for a day after the treatment, and avoiding extra activities will help to diminish these effects.

For certain techniques and in certain cases there are more specific risks of manual treatment. These will be explained by me in person according to individual necessity.

Will I have to do home exercises?

The person primarily responsible for your health is... yourself. You will be asked to participate actively in the treatment process. You may be given advice about lifestyle (activities, nutrition, etc.) and will usually be given a few simple exercises to do regularly a home.

Do you make home visits?

In an emergency, if the person cannot be moved, or if travel to the practice would aggravate their condition.

Do you do cranial osteopathy?

No, not as it is commonly understood.

Is osteopathy officially recognised?

It is officially recognised in the UK, where it is regulated by the General Osteopathic Council.

In Spain it is not recognised or regulated, although osteopaths may practise freely. There are a number of voluntary registers which afford self-regulation, such as the Registro de los Osteópatas de España.

Are osteopaths medically qualified?

Osteopathic training in the UK is to a high medical standard and includes the biomedical and clinical sciences such as anatomy, physiology, pathology, clinical methods and diagnostics. Most osteopaths are not qualified as physicians, but are fully competent to recognise pathology that should be referred to a physician.

How are osteopaths different from physiotherapists and chiropractors?

Some physiotherapists use their hands to treat the body's tissues and joints just as osteopaths do. However, the reasoning behind our treatments is fundamentally different. Physios tend to concentrate on where the symptoms are or where the pathology is located, while osteopaths look to the whole body and beyond to find the reasons for the person losing their health.

Osteopathic treatment tends to be less hurried and gentler than the chiropractic approach, with emphasis on the soft tissues (muscles) as well as the joints.

What is the evidence for osteopathy?

The only condition for which there is unequivocal scientific evidence for efficacy is low back pain. Lack of evidence is not proof that a method does not work, as it is often due simply to lack of research. This question is answered more fully in my article, "Science and osteopathy".

Any more questions?