What is osteopathy?

To find health should be the object of the doctor. Anyone can find disease.

Dr Andrew Taylor Still, Founder of the profession

In the UK, Osteopaths:

Are manual therapy practitioners

Meaning we use our hands to do the majority of our treatment as opposed to tools or machines.

Are primary care practitioners

Which means we have a high enough level of training to be able to assess you and decide whether you are safe to treat or need to be referred for further screening.  Primary means you can come to us before seeing your GP for example.

Treat the whole body, not just bones

Osteopaths treat the muscles and skeleton.  But we also consider how the musculoskeletal system (muscles/bones/joints) is linked to the circulatory, nervous, lymphatic, digestive, hormone and respiratory systems.  It really is all connected.

Are manipulative therapy practitioners

Along with chiropractors and physiotherapists. All three professions have the same high level of training which make their practitioners capable and safe to perform manipulations to the joints of the body. That said, there are many more tools and techniques we can use to help you find health.

Have to be registered by the General Osteopathic Council (GOsC). 

The GOsC regulate the profession and help to maintain high standards of patient care by holding osteopaths accountable for malpractice. People who visit an osteopath consistently report high satisfaction with the care they receive, expressing high confidence in the treatment and advice of their osteopath, with rates in excess of 90% for both satisfaction and trust (taken from https://www.iosteopathy.org/osteopathy/about-osteopathy/).