What can I expect on the first appointment?

For both adults and children, the aim of the longer first appointment is to formulate a
diagnosis or working model of what may be contributing to a patient’s problem and to
decide from this a useful course of action. Treatment is usually provided at the first visit if
safe and appropriate to do so. This involves using our hands to encourage changes in the
body tissues to help alleviate the presenting problem and improve general health. A
treatment plan will also be given to provide you with an idea of how quickly you may
expect to improve. Subsequent visits will focus on treatment and do not take as long. See
below for details of what to expect when we see patients at different ages:

For adults:

Your osteopath will start by taking a case history during which questions will be asked
about the reason for your visit, your general health, lifestyle and medical history. This
enables them to understand your problem in the context of you as a whole and your
overall health. It is useful to have a list of any medications you may be taking, prescription
or otherwise, and details of any scan results or other medical tests.
Following this, an osteopath will examine you in order to begin to work out how your body
may be being affected by your problem and what factors may be contributing to it. The
osteopath will watch you moving and assess your overall posture. The osteopath will also
gently use their hands to gain further impressions of your body tissues and also to check
for any areas of tenderness. To assist this, you may be asked to dress yourself down to
your undergarments to enable us to form a clear picture of your physical structure. Some
patients prefer to bring gym clothes or shorts to change into. Whilst you are changing your
privacy will be respected. You may be asked to remove jewelry such as necklaces or large
earrings to better help your treatment. For more information on what you might wear
during your visit click here.

Following this, the osteopath will position you upon the treatment table and may test, for
example, nerve function and the movement of parts of your body while you are at rest. If
they are doing a ‘cranial’ osteopathic assessment they will ask you to lie down and gently
place their hands upon you at various sites to gain a deeper impression of your tissues.
As stated above, during this visit the osteopath will formulate a working diagnosis which
will be explained to you. Questions are always very welcome and you will be given
opportunities to ask these. If you feel any discomfort, physical or otherwise, you should tell
the osteopath immediately and they will do their best to remedy this.

Back to FAQs

For Children:

This initially involves the osteopath asking a series of questions from the child (if
appropriate) and their parent in order to provide a case history. During the case history,
questions will be asked about the reason why you have brought them to see us, your
child’s general health and their medical history. This enables your osteopath to understand
your child’s problem in the context of their whole person and overall health. If applicable, it
is useful to have a list of any medications together with and details of any scan results,
medical tests or developmental/educational assessments.Following this, your paediatric osteopath will examine your child in order to begin to work
out how their body may be being affected by the problem and what factors may be
contributing to it. This part of the consultation differs according to the age of the child. An older child may be examined very similarly to an adult. In the case of a younger child, such as a toddler, examination
might involve watching your child play with specific toys, or walking around the building.
For this, it us usually preferable to examine the child in nappy/shorts only. During this time,
a paediatric osteopath will also gently use their hands to gain further impressions of your
child’s body tissues. Where possible, further examination would take place on the
treatment table. However, many young children are examined and treated whilst sitting on
a parent’s lap or playing on the floor. If your child has any specific toys or things which
distract them you are very welcome to bring them in to supplement the toys we have in the
practice. Examination and treatment is not painful and our osteopaths are experienced
and adept at working around a toddler’s frequent attempts to thwart hands-on contact!
During this visit your osteopath will formulate a working diagnosis which will be explained
to you. Questions are always very welcome and you will be given opportunities to ask
these. We encourage older children to ask questions for themselves and will explain any
examination and treatment to them as well as their attending parents.

Back to FAQs

For Babies:

The osteopath will ask a series of questions from you about your baby in order to provide a
case history. During the case history, questions will be asked about the reason why you
have come, details about your health during the pregnancy, the nature of the delivery (in
order to establish the impact on you baby’s body) and your baby’s health and medical
history. This enables your osteopath to understand how any areas of tension or discomfort
may have developed. It is often useful to bring with you “the red book” together with any
reports/medical/health records.
Following this, your paediatric osteopath will examine to your baby in order to begin to
work out how their body may be being affected by the problem and what factors may be
contributing to it. If your baby is awake when they arrive, it often starts with the baby being
undressed to the nappy in order to feel and move each joint, gently and specifically to
assess tension. This examination will include an assessment of general health and a
thorough developmental check. Through the extensive paediatric training our osteopaths
have undergone, this will be very similar to the check carried out by the paediatrician
before discharge from hospital or the GP in the case of a home birth.
During this time, a paediatric osteopath will also gently use their hands to gain further
impressions of your child’s body tissues. If the baby is presenting with issues relating to
feeding, it will be useful for us to observe feeding so that we can determine the postural
influences on feeding. In some cases examination would take place on the treatment
table. Our paediatric osteopaths also examine and treat babies while they are feeding or
being held by a parent.
As stated above, during this visit your osteopath will formulate a working diagnosis which
will be explained to you. Questions are always very welcome and you will be given
opportunities to ask these.

Back to FAQs