What do osteopaths do

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Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. What Is an Osteopath? There are more than , practicing osteopaths in the country today. How are doctors of osteopathic medicine trained? How do you decide whether to see a DO or an MD? Do osteopaths have specialties? What kinds of tests and procedures can an osteopath perform? The need for more research. The bottom line. Read this next. Muscle Testing. Is It Legit? Medically reviewed by William Morrison, MD. Medically reviewed by Nancy Carteron, M.

It is important you are seeing someone who has significant experience in your condition. After 20 years of treating clients aches and pains, I know I get my best results with a condition I see regularly. Always do your research on the therapist you plan to see and the clinic, before booking into a clinic. Physiotherapy is a science-based, dynamic profession that is based on the best available evidence for treating and managing pain and movement.

I qualified as a physiotherapist 20 years ago and feel that over these years, the profession has evolved significantly to reflect the evidence and science that underpins musculoskeletal health. The scientific developments in pain and structure in the past 20 years have been substantial, and the profession has developed with these new emerging themes and theories.

Osteopathy is a distinctive form of medical care. Founded on the philosophy that all body systems are interrelated and depending upon one another for good health. It is based on the work by Dr Andrew Still. In , a physician on the Missouri frontier, Andrew Taylor Still image below discovered that he could put his hands on people and change their physiology.

During my osteopathic study, I felt although these origins of osteopathy were fascinating to appreciate, on reflection, the profession was still based on outdated principles and had struggled to progress into a more modern evidence-based approach, especially to pain and dysfunction. In the past few years, I believe this has started to change, and the profession has evolved, nevertheless it is still lacking the science that underpins its profession.

Physiotherapy is usually a 3-year degree and osteopathy a 4-year degree. Both degrees cover all the core subjects you would expect in the first few years; anatomy, biomechanics, physiology and pathology. Physiotherapists gain their experience in the NHS and osteopaths in a private teaching clinic affiliated with the university.

One of the key differences between the two degrees is the breadth of the medical conditions the clinician would be exposed to and expected to treat. As part of their university course physiotherapists attend work placements to put their skills into place and treat real patients. Physiotherapists treat respiratory, neurological and musculoskeletal conditions. I believe this provides physiotherapists with an excellent foundation and range to their knowledge and skills. Most patients will attend due to musculoskeletal pain and sports injuries e.

This exposes the osteopathy students to a narrower breadth of injuries and complaints during their training. During your first session, both a physiotherapist and osteopath will take a detailed clinical history and carry out a comprehensive assessment of your presenting condition. The overall assessment process is likely to appear quite similar. The assessment will involve the clinician asking you several questions and finding out about when and how your symptoms started and how the symptoms behave, i.

You will also be asked questions about your general health. The clinician will then go on and carry out a physical assessment of the affected area. Generally, osteopaths probably assess a condition from a more holistic point of view, i.

Conversely, physiotherapists assess more locally to the painful or affected area but will also consider it as part of the overall functional unit. For example, if you have knee pain, a physiotherapist will assess the knee but will also evaluate the knee as part of a functional movement, e. Consult a doctor or other health care professional for diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions. For details see our conditions. Some of the common conditions osteopaths treat include: Acute and chronic lower back pain.

Rheumatic pain. Neck pain and stiffness. Muscle spasm and strains. Sports injuries. Shoulder, elbow and wrist pain. Postural dysfunctions. Frozen shoulder. Tennis elbow. Hip and pelvic pain. Knee pain. Cervicogenic headaches.

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