Your consultation

Osteopaths are registered health professionals who are specifically trained in diagnosing & treating musculoskeletal health issues. At your first appointment, your osteopath will ask you questions about your medical history and lifestyle, as well as any symptoms you may be experiencing. This is very important as it will help them to make an accurate diagnosis and suggest appropriate treatment.

They will write down what you tell them in your clinical records. These will be treated as confidential in accordance with standards of practice set out by the Osteopathic Council of New Zealand. If you wish, you may request a copy of your notes, but you may be charged an administration fee for this.

Your osteopath will need to examine area(s) of your body which may be directly or indirectly causing problems. They will need to feel for any tightness in the muscles and stiffness in the joints and may need to physically examine these areas to identify issues. To do this it might be necessary for your practitioner to ask you to remove some upper layers of clothing, or wear something suitable for your appointment (for example, gym gear). They will explain what they are doing as they go along.

If you are uncomfortable with any part of this, you have the right to ask them to stop at any stage, without prejudicing your future treatment. You are also entitled to be accompanied during your treatment by a chaperone or family member.

It is vital that you are comfortable at all times during your time with us and this further facilitates a positive outcome from your treatment.

Your treatment

Your osteopath will make an assessment and diagnosis, and then discuss this and what they feel is an appropriate course of treatment with you. This may involve further visits for manual therapy – a range of gentle hands-on techniques that focus on releasing tension, stretching muscles and improving mobility; together with exercises that you can do at home and helpful advice designed to help you relieve or manage your pain, keep active and maintain the better health. They may also make suggestions about potential lifestyle changes that might contribute to you being able to achieve a better degree of health and wellbeing. They will discuss the likely cost of this and ask for your consent to begin treatment.

Most osteopaths will begin your treatment at your first appointment, but sometimes they may require further tests first i.e. blood tests or scans. Occasionally they may identify indications of an illness that they are unable to treat and may refer you to your GP or another appropriate health professional.