Before Your Appointment

The practice is located on the top floor of The Village Centre in Kennington, Oxford. There is free parking in the village car park next to Kennington Health Centre, alternatively, there is parking opposite in The Tandem pub car park. If you have trouble with stairs, please advise us before whilst booking, so that we can organise the stair lift for you. Anybody is able to bring a friend or relative with them to their appointment, however under 16’s must always be accompanied by an adult.

Please bring a pair of shorts to change into for your appointment, alternatively you can wear lose and comfortable clothing. It would be helpful if you could bring any necessary prescription notes listing your medication and any x-rays/ scan results that relate to the issue you are presenting with. Please arrive 5 minutes before your appointment time as you will be asked to fill in a health questionnaire and contact details once you have been called in for your appointment. All Osteopathy Inital Consultation appointments are up 45 minutes long.

During Your Appointment

Before we are able to examine or treat you, you will be asked some questions about yourself, your past medical history and your presenting condition. The questions are detailed and questions such as; what makes the pain worse, better and when did it start. You may feel that some of the questions seem unnecessary and unrelated, however all this information is important and helps us to gain an over all picture of you, which helps to make a diagnosis and develop a treatment plan . Everything which is mentioned and written down during your sessions are completely confidential and will not be released without your written consent.

The next step is examination. So that we can perform a thorough examination we usually ask you to undress down to your underwear/shorts, or lose clothing (depending on the area) . Osteopaths don’t just treat your symptoms, we try to find the route cause of your problem, therefore this isn’t always located where you present with pain. Being able to see the whole body helps us to diagnose your underlying dysfunction. You will be asked to perform certain movements and we may do further testing such as reflexes and blood pressure to help us to understand your complaint. When we have finished examination we will discuss our findings with you and in most cases some treatment will be given, details on osteopathic treatment can be found below.

After Your Appointment

At the end of your first appointment you will be advised of your diagnosis, treatment plan and any given some after care advice.  You will receive your exercise plan via email within 48 hours.  Due to patient individuality we are unable to estimate the amount of sessions that you will require, usually we are guided by your response to treatment and how well a patient adheres to their treatment plan.

Because osteopathy is a manual therapy and we are aiming at encouraging the body to move differently you can sometimes experience some aching or stiffness post treatment. This is completely normal, however if you ever think that something isn’t normal, please don’t hesitate to give us a call and we will talk you through any worries that you may have. Advice may be given to you to support the treatment. Prevention may also be discussed relating to posture and lifestyle. We work alongside GP’s where possible and if we believe that they should be given information about your health. Again, your consent must be given before we can contact your GP. Likewise, if we do not believe that you will benefit from osteopathy treatment we will explain why to you and where possible refer you to somebody who we think will be able to help you.

What is Osteopathy?

Osteopathy is a hands-on therapy to help to articulate and mobilise joints and to stretch the muscles. Treatment is a 2-way approach and is always performed within your pain and comfort limits. If you are finding a particular technique uncomfortable, then please say, as there are plenty of ways that we can adapt to find the most effective approach for you. It is likely that you will be given exercises and advice for you to take home and perform each day, this helps the treatment to continue working  in between treatment sessions and can help to speed up recovery.

What Should I Wear?

All we ask is that you wear appropriate and comfortable underwear. If you are more comfortable in a small pair of loose fitting shorts, then this is fine, as are small vest tops/ camisoles. We really do understand that undressing can make you feel uncomfortable. Please rest assured that we will do our best to respect your wishes and dignity and aim to make you feel as comfortable as possible with the use of towels. Please don’t forget that you can bring a friend or relation into the treatment room if this makes you feel more relaxed.