Does osteopathy hurt?
Essentially, no, and this should never really be the case. But if you are already in some degree of pain or discomfort, you may have a heightened level of sensitivity which may affect how you are feeling. Read on to find out more about osteopathy.
As osteopaths, we are here to help
This means we do ask lots of questions about your situation, your health, and your perspective on things. Although some of these questions may appear to be unrelated to the issue at hand, this information is essential. This helps us to figure out the best individual way to approach and proceed with your care. A careful examination gives us key information to work out what’s most likely to be going on and determine the best available treatment options for you, which are aimed at helping you reduce your pain and discomfort.
Your osteopath will be in dialogue with you throughout each step of the process
If something is uncomfortable, sore or just doesn’t feel right to you, your osteopath will want to know, so that they can make changes and find out more. And remember, you can always stop proceedings at any time.
Osteopaths are adaptable to you!
Osteopaths are extremely adaptable and can modify the process in many ways. It might be the type of examination, the position you are in, or the techniques being used. The good news is all of these are changeable and osteopathy students spend a significant amount of time practicing different approaches and developing problem solving skills. This means osteopaths are highly adaptable to your situation and have lots of options up their osteopathic sleeves.
Your osteopath will talk to you about the benefits of treatment and possible side-effects, including feeling sore.
Osteopaths are careful to talk with you about the benefits, as well as any possible side-effects of treatment. This may include a possibility of soreness (similar to what you might have after a massage, for example) and agree the treatment approach with you before commencing. You can still change your mind at any time and as we’ve said above, your osteopath will want to keep a dialogue with you about how the treatment feels, and how you are responding. Discomfort or soreness is never the goal of treatment, but when treating an already irritable area, this may also be part of the process for some.
How might I feel after an osteopathic treatment?
For most people, they will be somewhere in the range of feeling better (yay!) to potentially feeling a little bit sore for 24 – 48hours after treatment. This can range from a slight sense of achiness or a feeling of general tenderness. If in the unlikely event that you develop any addition symptoms or feelings that you haven’t had before or if you are in anyway concerned, then please contact your osteopath in the first instance who will be more than happy to assist and guide you.
For most people after osteopathic treatment, they will be able to continue with their day as normal. We do suggest that you do not over-do things following a treatment and air on the side of caution as your body learns to adapt and respond to the treatment process.
I would like to visit the UCO clinic but I still have some concerns…
The information on this website can hopefully address any questions you may have. However, we know that sometimes we all just want to be able to talk things through. If this would be helpful for you, please call our lovely Clinic Administration Team on 020 7089 5360 or clinicappointments@uco.ac.uk.
They will be able to put you in touch with one of our clinical educators, so that they can discuss any specific concerns you might have.