FAQ

An initial consultation lasts around an hour. Your osteopath will take a full case history about your symptoms, as well your past medical history. Then there will be some assessments - ie, how you move on your own, how your joints move when the osteopath moves them, as well as more specific assessments relating to your symptoms (such as neurological or medical screening). Based on the case history as well as the assessments your osteopath will discuss with you what they understand to be going on, come up with a treatment plan, and be very happy to answer your questions. There is time for treatment during the initial consultation much more often than not, so if it’s safe and appropriate for you your osteopathic treatment will generally involve working on joint mobility, soft tissue work to muscles/ligaments/tendons, and other much more subtle techniques that help to ease the nervous system. At Live Well Osteopathy we use a bio-psycho-social approach, which means that we take into account what else could be contributing to your physical symptoms - such as stress. We love to empower people to help themselves - offering education on your particular issue, and advice on a range of lifestyle interventions that should help you get back to being pain-free even quicker and getting back to doing what you love.

Sometimes, when muscles / joints are chronically tight or stiff, or during an acute episode of pain, some techniques may be slightly uncomfortable. We will always check-in with you about how you’re feeling, and never work outside of your tolerance. On the whole, treatment is pleasant, calming, and feels good. Often people are so relaxed that they even drop into a little snooze! Following a treatment there’s often a sense of calm, reassurance, and feeling a bit ‘lighter’. There can occasionally be some soreness, depending on if the tissues have been particularly restricted, which shouldn’t last more than 1-3 days. Your nervous system has also had input from the treatment, and it needs to process this - this can result in tiredness or some mild soreness, but doesn’t last long at al.

You may have heard, or had experience of, being asked to undress for your assessment. This isn’t something we routinely do at Live Well Osteopathy, as we understand that it’s really vulnerable to be in your undies in front of a stranger! It is important for us to see and feel how your joints move, though. Wearing shorts and a vest top that we can roll up is perfectly fine Anything restrictive like jeans, dungarees, or a long dress that’s hard to roll up isn’t the best option. For pelvic health / postnatal checks the same applies, but if an internal assessment is warranted then you’ll be provided with a medical gown to wear for your comfort.

This is a hard one to answer, as it varies greatly. For most people 3 - 4 treatments are enough to really help. However for more chronic conditions, sports injury rehab, pelvic health rehab, or persistent (chronic) pain then it can take more to be able to make a lasting change. You may well feel better after 3-4 treatments, but it’s often wise to continue a longer course of treatment to support your recovery fully. We adopt current pain-science approaches and the latest in rehab in order to support your journey to feeling great again. We don’t buy into the practice of booking people in for maintenance treatments ‘just in case’. We aim to teach you to feel confident in moving your body again, so that you don’t need to rely on people like us. That being said, if you want to come every so often for a ‘go-over’ because you find it a useful part of your wellbeing, then we’ll fully support you in that.