You’ve made the decision to seek treatment for the aches, pains, stiffness and discomfort you’ve been suffering with and you’re booked in for an appointment…but what happens when you get here? Here you’re guided through a typical appointment and what you can expect.

​On arrival for your first appointment you will be greeted by friendly reception staff or an osteopath and asked to complete a medical questionnaire and consent form.

Once in the treatment room your osteopath will take a thorough medical case history. This will explore the problem for which you are attending in detail and includes evaluating your lifestyle and general health to determine any other influences on your symptoms. This gives a deep understanding of your problem but also ensures your safety as some aches and pains may indicate other underlying medical conditions, which should be referred to your doctor. As osteopaths we are highly trained to recognise these potential problems to ensure you’re in safe hands.

Following the case history is a physical evaluation. This may involve performing some simple movements so your osteopath can see any limitations (most often in the spine) relating to your pain. Your osteopath will use their hands to feel for areas of tenderness, muscle tension or movement restriction. Your osteopath may also use other specific orthopaedic, neurological and clinical medical tests.

For these examinations, your osteopath may ask you to remove some outer clothing so the problematic area can be seen more easily. Of course this depends on your consent and there is no obligation if you are not comfortable. Some patients find it useful to bring shorts or a vest/strappy top in anticipation of this.

Following the physical evaluation your osteopath will give you a detailed explanation and diagnosis for your problem. Your osteopath will also guide you through the various treatments and techniques that will be used to fix this problem. You are encouraged to ask questions – your osteopath will be more than happy to explain anything you do not initially understand.

Once you are happy to proceed, treatment begins and your osteopath will use a range of techniques (click here to learn more) to alleviate your problem. At the end of the appointment your movement will be briefly reassessed to gauge your body’s initial response to treatment. Your osteopath may prescribe some basic exercises and stretches for you to be doing at home to help your problem.

Finally your osteopath will discuss further treatments (if required) and may advise you to book a further appointment. At Baddow Osteopathic & Sports Injury Clinic we don’t believe in signing patients up to a predetermined number of appointments because each patient responds differently to treatment. There is no point signing up for a course of 10 appointments if your problem is sorted after 3 or so!

This first appointment will last around 40 to 45 minutes but further appointments are shorter at 20 to 30 minutes as there is no case history to be taken. As mentioned above, on some rare occasions it may be necessary to refer you to you doctor instead of treating. In this instance, if we don’t treat; we don’t charge.

Should you have any questions or would like to book an appointment, please visit the Contact and Appointment pages.