At your first osteopathic consultation, the purpose is to obtain an accurate assessment and build the rehabilitation strategy that fits your needs. The consultation method includes the medical history, the examination and the osteopathic treatment.
The osteopath takes a detailed case history including questions about the current complaint, your medication and your previous medical history such as the presence of other pathologies or injuries. At this stage, the patient will be beneficial to bring any previous investigations such as MRI, X-ray, blood tests etc.
The procedure of case history is significant for creating a full picture of the patient’s state of health and for the osteopath to create a safe treatment plan.
Following the case history, a clinical examination will take place. In this stage, the osteopath will palpate the areas of the body that are causing discomfort, observe your posture and identify restrictions. The Osteopath will may run some clinical tests such as orthopaedic, neurological and cardiovascular to identify the tissues causing your symptoms.
You will be asked to remove some clothes so the osteopath can assess the area hence, please, make sure you wear shorts or underwear that make you feel comfortable.
At the end of the examination, the osteopath will explain to you what she thinks is the cause of your pain, what parameters you can change, what are the things you cannot and how she can help. You and the osteopath will make short-term and long-term strategies to overcome your discomfort in this part. At the rest of the consultation, you will receive the first osteopathic treatment including specific techniques that through the examination, the osteopath identify that they can benefit you.