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Do I Need To Be Referred By a Doctor to See An Osteopath?
Is a doctor’s referral necessary for you to book an appointment with an osteopath? This is one of the most common queries that we are
March 3, 2023 No Comments
At Key Osteopaths, our caring team of experienced osteopaths leverage advanced hands-on techniques to treat a wide range of musculoskeletal conditions. We take a whole-body approach to gently alleviate your pain, maximise mobility, and support lasting wellness.
Our structural osteopaths are experts at using articulation, stretching, and soft tissue release techniques tailored to your unique imbalance, restriction, and asymmetry. We gently realign your joints, ease postural and gait strains, and decrease back, neck, hip, knee, shoulder, and general musculoskeletal pain. You’ll feel looser, more flexible, and have greater range of motion after treatment.
Our cranial osteopaths use a delicate touch to assess and release strain patterns in your cranial bones, membranes, nerves, and fluids. This is excellent for treating migraines, headaches, vertigo, TMJ/jaw pain, neck stiffness, tinnitus, and more originating from impaired cranial mobility or neurological strain. Our relaxing light touch techniques can profoundly improve cranial and whole-body health.
We gently treat your whole digestive and reproductive systems to relieve pain, dysfunction, swelling, and congestion from conditions like IBS, menstrual cramps, bladder problems, prostate inflammation, endometriosis, heartburn, constipation, and scar tissue adhesion. Our visceral techniques improve organ mobility and function so you can return to comfortable health.
We address irritated nerves, muscle spasms, trigger points, and referred pain using specialised stretching, compression, massage, and positional release techniques. This decreases pain in conditions like sciatica, carpal tunnel, shin splints, and frozen shoulder. We relax protective muscle holding patterns and enhance circulation for mobility.
Our paediatric and baby cranial osteopaths offer very gentle techniques to support development, nursing, and optimal wellness. We treat issues like colic, ear infections, delivery trauma, and impaired development with light touch. Our treatments enhance healthy growth, relaxation, and comfort in children.
Having suffered a neck injury during my rugby career I did the rounds with various recommended osteopaths with limited success. Then by chance I visited Anna in West Byfleet and… read more
Tom ClaryI specifically booked in with Anna as she came highly recommended by a friend. I have been visiting physios, chiropractors and osteopaths for years with no real success. The problem… read more
Hollie BlueMyself, my husband, my son and my daughter have all seen Anna over the past few years for either neck, back, knee, shoulder or elbow problems. She has always managed… read more
Kerry Bartter
Living with chronic pain or ongoing health issues can greatly reduce your quality of life. Whether it’s relentless back or neck aches, headaches, sports injuries, sciatica, arthritis, pregnancy pains, or other conditions, the wear and tear of pain and discomfort can leave you feeling frustrated and debilitated.
At Key Osteopaths, our team of compassionate, highly trained osteopaths leverage advanced manual techniques to effectively treat a wide range of conditions – all without drugs or invasive procedures. We take a whole-body, holistic approach to identify the underlying root causes of your pain or dysfunction. Then, we use precise, hands-on osteopathic methods to gently alleviate symptoms and support your body’s innate healing abilities.
You can turn to our natural, personalised treatments to find relief from short-term and chronic issues including back, neck, shoulder, hip, and knee pain, headaches, migraines, disc injuries, sciatica, arthritis, sports injuries, pregnancy aches, TMJ disorders, children’s health issues, digestive problems, fertility challenges, sleep troubles, stress and anxiety, and more. We also correct postural imbalances and treat injuries to get you safely back to optimal health and movement.
At your initial visit, our osteopaths take time to listen and understand your health goals. A thorough evaluation identifies areas of structural or biomechanical dysfunction contributing to your problems. Then we tailor a customised treatment plan just for you using gentle cranial and structural techniques that fit your needs. Our aim is to address the root physical cause of pain, not just temporarily relieve symptoms.
We are dedicated to providing compassionate, holistic pain relief and improved wellbeing through our specialised osteopathic treatments. If you are suffering from any of the conditions outlined above, we encourage you to get in touch today.
Schedule a consultation with our osteopathic team to have a thorough evaluation of your health issues. We will take the time to listen, understand your pain points. You’ll experience our gentle yet targeted hands-on techniques that can help you finally achieve lasting pain relief and get back to living life fully.
Don’t wait to start feeling better – your health and comfort are our top priority. Call, email or book an appointment online today.
I have been seeing Francesca for a few years now, initially for severe back pain which she was able to identify the source of and alleviate really quickly. Now… read more
Anne EastwoodAnna came highly recommended to me by a friend so I decided to go and see her about a muscle issue in my left arm. Anna was fantastic, she asked… read more
philip selfAnna and Francesca are amazing osteopaths. Have really helped me with my neck issues!
JGarnes MusicOur osteopathic techniques are backed by scientific research proving their effectiveness for reducing musculoskeletal pain, improving mobility, speeding injury recovery, decreasing headaches, and more. Multiple studies validate gentle osteopathic treatments reduce back pain and headache frequency better than other therapies or placebo controls.
Additional quality research supports the benefits of osteopathy for conditions like carpal tunnel, TMJ disorders, concussion recovery, menstrual pain, asthma, gastrointestinal disorders, and beyond. You can trust in our proven, evidence-based, holistic approach.
Our osteopathic techniques are backed by numerous high-quality clinical trials such as:
A 2020 meta-analysis in the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association analysed 5 trials and found osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) significantly reduced chronic lower back pain more than sham manipulations or usual care. (Licciardone, 2020)
A systematic review in the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies analysed 8 studies and concluded OMT provided moderate to strong benefits for cervicogenic headache pain compared to massage, mobilisation, or no treatment controls. (Voigt, 2018)
A randomised trial in the European Journal of Physiotherapy showed OMT decreased pain and disability in carpal tunnel syndrome patients better than wrist splinting alone. (Fernandez-de-Las-Penas, 2012)
Multiple studies validate OMT helps treat asthma, otitis media, temporomandibular disorders, plantar fasciitis, menstrual pain, anxiety, neck pain, and beyond. (Nelson, 1998; Ernst, 2011; Franke et al, 2014)
With over 6,000 research articles on osteopathic manipulative medicine, high-quality clinical evidence supports the effectiveness of our techniques for reducing pain, improving mobility, preventing injury, speeding recovery and enhancing overall wellbeing. You can be fully confident in our research-backed approach.
Q: What is osteopathy?
A: Osteopathy is a form of manual therapy provided by licensed osteopaths that focuses on total body health and the musculoskeletal system. Osteopaths use a variety of hands-on techniques to improve function, alleviate pain, and support the body’s natural healing processes.
Q: How does osteopathy work?
A: Osteopaths manually detect areas of tissue restriction or impairment in the body that may be contributing to pain or dysfunction. They use gentle techniques like stretching, articulation, soft tissue massage, and joint mobilisation to release tension, increase mobility, improve blood flow, decrease inflammation, and help the body return to a state of balance.
Q: What conditions can osteopathy treat?
A: Osteopathy can effectively treat a wide range of acute and chronic neuromusculoskeletal conditions such as back pain, neck pain, headaches, arthritis, injuries, digestive issues, postural problems, and more by addressing impaired function.
Q: What techniques do osteopaths use?
A: Common osteopathic techniques include articulation, stretching, soft tissue massage, trigger point release, joint mobilisation, craniosacral therapy, muscle energy, counter strain, visceral manipulation, and lymphatic drainage.
Q: What does an osteopath do?
A: Osteopaths conduct physical exams to assess joint mobility, muscle function, posture alignment, tissue restriction, and more. Based on these assessments, they perform hands-on manual treatment techniques to increase range of motion, reduce pain, and facilitate the body’s self-healing mechanisms.
Q: What is the difference between an osteopath and a chiropractor?
A: While both provide spinal manipulation therapy, osteopaths focus on total body health rather than just the spine. Osteopaths use gentler techniques and emphasise the interconnectivity of the body’s systems to treat a broader range of conditions.
Q: Is osteopathy safe?
A: When performed by a licensed, trained osteopath, osteopathic techniques are considered very safe and gentle. Patients may experience mild soreness or fatigue after treatment as tissues release. Serious risks like strokes are extremely rare.
Q: Is osteopathy effective?
A: Numerous scientific studies have found osteopathic manual therapy effective for reducing pain and improving mobility in patients with chronic back pain, neck pain, osteoarthritis, headaches, and various other conditions involving the muscles or joints.
Q: What should I expect during an osteopathy session?
A: Your first osteopathy session will begin with an initial consultation where the osteopath asks about your health concerns, symptoms, and medical history. You’ll then receive a physical exam checking your mobility, alignment, and areas of tightness or sensitivity. The osteopath will explain their findings and recommended treatment plan. During the hands-on treatment, the osteopath will narrate techniques being used and check for feedback on pressure. Sessions generally last 30-60 minutes.
Q: Does osteopathic treatment hurt?
A: Most osteopathic techniques are gentle and cause little to no pain. You may experience some mild soreness or achiness after treatment as your body adjusts. Your comfort level will be respected throughout. Please communicate with your osteopath on any discomfort so they can adjust.
Q: How many osteopathy sessions will I need?
A: The number of treatments needed depends on your health status and goals. Acute issues may resolve within 2-6 sessions while chronic conditions may require longer management. Your osteopath will advise on an individualised treatment plan based on your response over time. Maintenance visits are often recommended.
Q: When should I see an osteopath?
A: It’s reasonable to consult an osteopath for muscle or joint aches, restricted mobility, sports injuries, headaches, arthritis, back/neck pain, poor posture, pregnancy discomfort, and various other conditions involving the muscles, bones, or nerves. Osteopathy aims to treat issues at their structural root.
Q: Can osteopathy help with back pain?
A: Yes, clinical research supports the effectiveness of osteopathic manual therapy for improving pain and function in those suffering from acute or chronic back pain caused by joint restriction, disc problems, muscular tightness, sciatica, and spondylitis. It’s an excellent drug-free option.
Q: Can osteopathy help with headaches?
A: Studies confirm osteopathic treatment significantly reduces headache pain and frequency in those suffering chronic tension or migraine headaches. Osteopaths are trained to relieve impaired strain patterns affecting the head, neck, and neurological functioning that trigger headaches.
Q: Can osteopathy help with sciatica?
A: Sciatica treatment is a common application of osteopathy. Osteopaths address muscular dysfunction, joint/disc problems, and other structural issues along the sciatic nerve pathway that may be causing compression or irritation. Techniques reduce inflammation and improve mobility.
Q: Can osteopathy help with arthritis?
A: Yes, hand-on osteopathic techniques have been found effective in decreasing pain, enhancing mobility and joint functioning, reducing stiffness, and improving quality of life for patients with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. It enhances circulation and motion.
Q: Can osteopathy help babies and children?
A: Gentle osteopathic techniques can support health in babies and children. Treatment can help with issues like nursing difficulties, restricted growth, ear infections, colic, reflux, sleep issues, and developmental delays. Paediatric osteopathy is very light touch.
Q: Can osteopathy aid fertility or pregnancy?
A: Yes, osteopathic techniques can help address musculoskeletal strain, postural changes, circulatory impairment, and hormonal imbalances that may be contributing to fertility issues. Treatments during pregnancy can also relieve back/pelvic pain, nausea, headaches and prepare the body for delivery.
Q: Will my insurance cover osteopathy?
A: Coverage varies by insurer and location. Many major insurance providers do cover osteopathic manipulative treatment to some extent, especially with a doctor’s referral. Contact your insurance company to see if they will reimburse visits to a licensed osteopath.
Q: How much does osteopathy cost?
A: We charge £85 for your first initial consultation; any follow up appointments are charged at £60.
I cannot recommend Anna highly enough! Against all odds, when I was told I would need spinal surgery to just be able to walk without any pain, to now training… read more
elena youngAnna and Francesca are amazing osteopaths. Have really helped me with my neck issues!
JGarnes MusicHaving suffered a neck injury during my rugby career I did the rounds with various recommended osteopaths with limited success. Then by chance I visited Anna in West Byfleet and… read more
Tom ClaryIs a doctor’s referral necessary for you to book an appointment with an osteopath? This is one of the most common queries that we are
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Is a doctor’s referral necessary for you to book an appointment with an osteopath? This is one of the most common queries that we are