07715 581554

michelle@hancockosteopathy.co.uk

What is Osteopathy

Osteopathy is a method of holistic diagnosis and treatment with the aim to improve function, reduce pain and discomfort and to help you to feel more in control and able again.

Diagnosing ‘holistically’ means to consider everything about your body, health and environment, your work and lifestyle to account for how your symptoms came on and why they’ve lasted. Holistic treatments include hands on techniques to treat the underlying cause alongside advice for prevention and self-help.

Osteopaths aim to help you for the long term- it’s not about just working on the site of symptoms to soothe your discomfort, we also work away from the symptoms; when the cause of the symptoms are not from the painful area itself, but from a different area of the body, which is creating imbalance and tensions in the area of symptoms- this helps us to treat the cause rather than just ‘patching up’ symptoms.

Treatment can range between gentle hands on massage, stretching, joint articulation and manipulation to working on how you use and move your body, encouraging more confidence and mobility in sessions. Osteopaths aim to increase circulation, relaxation, reduce muscle and joint tension and restore balance and well-being generally.

Pain education alongside teaching patients about their symptoms are very helpful to recovery, and prevention of future symptoms, and is something Michelle is really passionate about.

Training

Osteopaths train for four years to become professionally qualified to diagnose and treat and recognise a huge range of disorders, symptoms and complaints.

Human anatomy and physiology are studied extensively, as well as the psychological, physical and pathological factors that may impact your well-being and healing capacity.

We also continue to train and research each year following our training to complete at least 30 hours of professional development and are regulated and registered by the General Osteopathic Council.

If something in your case history or symptoms are recognised to require further investigation by a medical professional, with your consent, you will be referred to your GP advising them of the findings.

What osteopaths treat

Osteopaths are well known to treat backs and necks but actually they treat all muscles, joints, and soft tissues including nerve complaints, from head to toe, including shoulder, hip, knee, minor sports injuries, pregnancy related problems, work related symptoms and stress. Please check out the full list of symptoms listed on our home page or contact Michelle directly to discuss your symptoms.

What you can expect from Michelle

A warm friendly welcome, and a professional and thorough examination of your relevant history, body movements, and symptoms. Physical examination includes testing the structures that may be involved so that we can devise what the problem is, from here, we can discuss the options to help you. You will feel well informed, comfortable and reassured about your symptoms.

During treatment, you should feel relaxed, in control and at ease with Michelle’s warm and empathetic approach to care. Michelle gives you lots of options and advice as to how you’d like to continue with your care- whether you just wanted a one-off session to find out what was going on, or to continue with a few sessions to get you back to doing what you want to, or see Michelle every so often for a ‘top up’ and ongoing review of your body’s health and function.

Michelle gives you lots of information to help you following your examination, and is always ready to help you if you should need further advice in the future to top up the information from the sessions you’ve had.