What does Osteopathy treat?
What is osteopathy?
Osteopathy is the method of identifying, treating and preventing pain in the muscles, bones, ligaments, tendons and nerves.
Osteopaths use physical manipulation by moving, stretching and massaging a person’s muscles and joints, aiming to increase the mobility of joints, relieving muscle tension and helping the body to heal.
When should I see an osteopath?
Most people who visit an osteopath aim to treat conditions that affect the muscles, bones and joints. For instance:
- Back pain
- Neck pain
- Shoulder and elbow pain
- Muscle and joint pain associated with driving or work
Is my osteopath qualified?
In the UK, osteopathy is a health profession regulated by UK law. In order to call themselves osteopaths, practitioners must be registered with the General Osteopathic Council (GOsC).
You can find a nearby registered osteopath on the GOsC website.
What happens when you visit an osteopath?
During your first session your osteopath might ask for more details about:
- Your symptoms
- Previous medical care
- General health
Your osteopath will then examine different areas to find weakness or tenderness and might ask you to perform simple movements while doing so.
The osteopath will be able to advise you if osteopathy can help treat your problem and if so, what your treatment programme should involve. This might include massages, manipulation treatments or stretching stiff joints, for instance.
Financial assistance towards your osteopathy treatment
Being a mutual society allows us to offer additional benefits to members at no extra cost. After 12 months contributions have been paid into a Sickness or Savings Plan, our members become eligible for Discretionary Benefits that include osteopathy grants.
We understand that our members are likely to experience aches and pains due to working on the buses or coaches daily. To encourage them to treat these conditions at an early stage and try and prevent any future serious sicknesses, we provide reimbursements towards the cost of Osteopathy treatments. This means that after members had treatment and paid for it, we will reimburse 100% of the cost up to £150 per year. To find out more about our discretionary benefits, please visit our Dental, Optical & Osteopathic Claims section.