At Surrey Physio Group, we have a big team of osteopaths. Our founder is an osteopath and a physio. So, we’ve been employing and working with osteopaths since 2005. We value osteopaths immensely. They are incredible healthcare practitioners. They also work incredibly well with physios. The two professions are beautifully aligned.

However, we know you might feel nervous about seeing an osteopath for the first time. So, let’s look at some key things to think about, and let’s help you prepare for your first osteopathic appointment.

1. Don’t Worry

Osteopaths are regulated medical professionals, allied healthcare practitioners, working in the NHS and private practice, and trained to a very high-level. Osteopathy is a very safe profession. Osteopaths at Surrey Physio are gentle, and rarely use heavy manipulation (cracking, crunching, HVT, high-velocity thrusts). The osteopaths we have been working with have hundreds of successful patient testimonials. You are in safe hands. You don’t need to worry.

2. Dress in comfortable attire

Osteopathy frequently involves a variety of exercises, manual therapy and stretches; therefore, it is essential to wear loose-fitting, comfortable clothing that does not restrict movement. Depending on your condition, your therapist may need access to the area where you are experiencing pain or discomfort; therefore, you should consider wearing clothing that allows for easy access to that area. If you have a hip problem, please wear shorts or leggings. You’d be amazed how many people turn up in tight jeans complaining of hip pain.

3. Be Realistic with Your Requests/Questions

Osteopaths are very happy to explain the problem, and answer your questions. We encourage you to ask questions, and understand your diagnosis and the treatment plan. Of course, asking questions takes time (which is fine) but also be aware that each appointment has a set time as we have a list of patients, so it is very hard for osteopaths to run over an appointment. If your problems are quite complex in nature, just book a double appointment.

4. Arrive early, relax, and Enjoy the Experience

Plan to arrive early for your initial appointment. This allows time for filling out paperwork, relaxing, and acclimating to the new environment. Reducing anxiety and feeling at ease can enhance your experience overall. As physios we’re a super friendly bunch. We’re not here to hurt you. You are in a safe environment where we are trying our best to help you.

5. Work with your Osteopath

Improving your health is a partnership.

We’ll do our best to help you, but we need your buy-in too. We might ask you some tough questions. You might be expecting us to fix you. However, we help your body to fix itself. We’ll do what we can to massage sore areas, or mobilise stiff joints. That can help, but we need you to help too. One of the things is to change your lifestyle, or identify what may be causing your pain and reducing it. If you come in with ankle pain each week but are running 20 miles per week, then we think we know why you are getting ankle pain. Just know that we are doing our best to help you, we want you to get better. Why? Because we care about all of our patients.

If you are a patient, in pain suffering with acute or chronic pain, please call us to discuss your case further. Surrey Physio have an amazing team of therapists to help you recover from pain, but also to achieve top performance. Call us on 0208 685 6930 or click the link at the top to book online.)