What do we do?

Your medical history

Before we start to treat you, we will make a full medical assessment. We take time to listen to you and ask questions to make sure we understand your medical history and your day-to-day routine. We’ll ask you about things like diet, exercise and what is happening in your life, as these may give clues to help our diagnosis.

We may feel your pulse and check your reflexes. We may also take your blood pressure and refer you for clinical tests, such as x-rays, if we think you need them.

 Your posture

We usually look at your posture and how you move your body. We may also assess what happens when we move it for you and see what hurts, where and when.

Trouble areas

Using touch, we may also find the areas which are sensitive or tight and this helps us to identify what’s going on.

When we have done this, we can diagnose your condition. We may sometimes feel that osteopathy is not appropriate for you and refer you to your GP or another specialist such as an orthopaedic surgeon.

Your treatment

Osteopaths use a wide range of gentle manipulations, depending on your age, fitness and diagnosis.

Treatment is different for every patient but may include techniques such as different types of soft tissue massage and joint articulation to release tension, stretch muscles, help relieve pain and mobilise your joints.

Sometimes, when we move joints you may hear a ‘click’. This is just like the click people get when they crack their knuckles.               

We may discuss exercises that you can do to improve your posture and movement in your workplace and everyday life.

 Professionalism and Safety

To qualify, an osteopath must study for four to five years for an undergraduate degree. This is similar to a medical degree, with more emphasis on anatomy and musculoskeletal medicine and includes more than 1,000 hours of training in osteopathic techniques.

By law, osteopaths must register with the General Osteopathic Council (GOsC). It is an offence for anyone to call themselves an osteopath if they are not registered. The British Medical Association’s guidance for general practitioners states that doctors can safely refer patients to osteopaths.

 Privacy - Use of Patients' Personal Data - GDPR Statement

At the Flitwick Osteopathic Clinic we take our responsibilities seriously with regards to the collection, processing and storing of your personal data.  We have updated our policies, procedures and documents to ensure that we are compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation from May 25, 2018.

Please read our Privacy Notice for details of the personal information we take during your visit as a patient, how we use it, how we get consent, how you can ask for the information we have, your rights in relation to that data and where you can complain if you feel we have not managed your personal data correctly.