Osteopathy dates back to the 1870’s, the start of modern medicine, and was foundered by an American Dr, Andrew Taylor Still.

Whilst doing the rounds of his rural practice he particularly noticed the way his patients' health was affected by the way they used their bodies. As time went on he followed a different path from many of his peers avoiding alcohol and administering crude drugs that were at their disposal in heroic quantities. This drove him to seek new methods of treatment. The outcome of his research was the application of physical treatment as a specialised form of treatment for which he coined the term 'Osteopathy'. Osteopathy has been established in the UK since 1917 and treats upwards of 6 million people in the UK each year.

Treatment

Treatment is aimed at improving mobility and reducing inflammation by using gentle, manual osteopathic techniques on joints, muscles and ligaments. You will be given positive advice related to your lifestyle about how you use your body.

Age is no barrier to osteopathy since each patient is considered individually and treatment is gentle. You may also be given advice about your diet, which in some people may be a factor in their condition. Exercises to do at home may also be prescribed to improve joint function and to reduce muscle spasm. Exercise in warm water or salt baths may also be recommended.

Osteopathy is not a cure-all and there are situations when surgery may be necessary - such as a hip replacement - when you will be referred to a specialist via your GP. However, osteopathy can help manage your pain until surgical intervention is necessary, and it can also help with your rehabilitation post surgery.

Osteopathy and Pain Relief

One of the main purposes of osteopathy is offering a natural treatment in pain relief. Pain is your body's way of telling you that something is wrong. Swelling of tissue, which creates pressure on nerves and leads to discomfort, often causes it. Pain can affect many areas of the body, but the most common tend to be in the lower back, head, neck, joints and legs. Apart from the effects of pain through injuries and strains encountered during the normal course of life, pain can result from muscle tension through the stress of over doing a particular activity and can also manifest itself in the form of rheumatic or arthritic pain. Another common source of pain for ladies is period pain. All these types of pain respond well to osteopathic treatment.

It should be remembered that pain is a useful mechanism, which alerts you to a problem. It helps to stop you from damaging your body further. Therefore, it should always be taken seriously.

Osteopathy and the treatment of pain

Osteopaths can diagnose the cause of pain and help to ease it by reducing tissue inflammation. Treatment methods range from massage of muscles and connective tissues to manipulation and stretching of joints. This helps to reduce muscle spasm, to increase mobility and to create a healthier state in which damaged tissues can heal.

Much long-term, recurrent pain is caused by degenerative changes to the body's framework. Nobody can reverse this process of ageing, but osteopathic treatment may still ease pain.

Pain control is an important part of treatment and osteopaths give guidance on simple self-help methods to use at home.

The skilled techniques of osteopathy can often allow you a speedy return to normal activity. If you have had a pain for a long time, and other forms of treatment have not helped, osteopathic treatment can be beneficial, although it may require time and patience.

Key points to remember

•Osteopaths are skilled health care professionals.

•Osteopaths deal with pain every day.

•Osteopaths treat six million people suffering from pain each year.

•Osteopaths can help you with treatment and advice on self-help.

•Osteopaths treat acute and chronic pain.

•Osteopaths can help prevent pain from reacurring.

All practicing Osteopaths need to be registered with the General Osteopathic Council (GOC) and are bound by the 1993 Osteopathy act. The Council regulates to ensure that all registered Osteopaths are working to professional standards under a code of conduct. This gives the client the reassurance that they are being treated by a health care professional, which is protected by law.