Our training in the different medical fields allow us the necessary knowledge to differentiate them. Then a systemic protocol rules our consultations and treatments :

• Interrogatory/health-medical history. First of all, its aim is to provide us the necessary information to exclude a condition that Osteopathy is not able to treat. Any doubt will lead us to not treat the patient and refer him/her to a medical doctor for further examinations.
• Many tests (orthopaedic, etc) are part of our skills and will help us understand the condition and exclude our treatment if needed.

The first traumatic event we might face occurs during our birth : difficult birth in general, forceps, vacuum, etc. It will determine our balance for our entire life. Ideally, an Osteopath should be part of the team that delivers the baby. He should have him checked then, like the paediatrician would check the baby’s health from the medical standards. Since it is not yet an option, the first few days after the delivery are the best. If some mechanical imbalances are present, their impact will be minimised. Indeed, the body won’t have had the time to adapt too much around them nor have them printed deeply in the tissues. Baby’s treatments are very soft, so can be done anytime.

It is never too late. Early treatments on new-borns will allow us to have a great impact on the balance of their growth. It will allow us to modify the structure/shape. The more an individual has grown, the lesser we will have an impact on this growth and the modification of the structure/shape. At all times, we can still have a great action on the balance and the freedom of the structures of the body independently of their shape.

Anytime, but usually we recommend to wait until 3 months of pregnancy as more modifications will start to occur. Ideally, it would be better to examine and treat (if needed) a woman before she gets pregnant. This will ensure her balance is the best to welcome her pregnancy. Treatments after the pregnancy are extremely important as well. They will ensure that the body balance comes back to its normal and check on the impact of any medical procedure (c-section, epidural, episiotomy, etc.)

There are different bodies and standards around the World, which might lead to a certain level of confusion. Overall, there is consensus in the Osteopathic studies: 5 or 6 years of full time training is the best reference. Less than that will not ensure the necessary level of knowledge. Would you consult a medical doctor that has done a part time training or let say 3 years of studies instead of 7 ? The answer is clearly no.

On the other hand, we believe that a full-time training in cranial, functional and visceral is necessary to reach the necessary level of knowledge and hand experience. The skills to develop a good hand in these fields take much more time as the sensations are very fine. Besides the structural techniques, a certain number of schools only provide little or no training in these fields. An osteopath trained full-time in cranial, visceral, functional and structural techniques during 5 or 6 years is a warranty of quality.

You might be interested in this section : how to choose an osteopath ?

Osteopathy is recognised by the World Health Organisation as a safe therapy. The techniques used are soft techniques, adapted to each patient. The training of an Osteopath to the medical fields and the interrogatory will eliminate the risks of treating an excluded condition.

Usually, we will be able to work in 2-3 sessions for most troubles seen, with good result, often since the first session. If we have no result at all after 2-3 sessions, the case will be discussed and handled by the team. Thus, we will try our best to understand it and find a solution. Chronic cases may take few more sessions.

It is important to understand that we are not the ones doing the treatment. Our treatment consists merely in giving to the body better information and options to adapt mechanically and so ensure the best function of all the systems. Which means that we will wait for the body to process the new information given during the treatment. It can take few days, few weeks or few months. Your osteopath depending on the needs he has identified, will tailor the treatment to be the most successful.

40-60mn on average. It may vary from one osteopath to another as different technical approach may need different timings. A good osteopath will always take the time needed to do his treatment. Sometimes it may be done in 20mn sometimes it might require 1h30.

In some cases, yes, to let the body adapt. In some cases, no, as the body needs to move. Our osteopath will give the necessary advices.  

Ideally yes. But since it exists culturally a difference to the perception of the body in Malaysia, we have learned to adapt. Honestly, we are medical practitioners, the body is the body. Anatomically, we can’t do this job without looking at it this way. Same applies to your medical doctor (gynaecologist, urologist, etc). It is much easier to communicate and feel a structure when directly on it. The sensitive captors of our hands will react with the ones of the patient’s skin.

To ease our work, bring sport clothes and not too thick (leggings, etc).

If we need at some point of the treatment to lift the clothes to access to a certain part of the body, we will always ask the permission prior to doing it. We respect religious reasons and believes and will always ensure to communicate with our patients on the processes of the treatment.  

This is an interesting question that may appear difficult, but, I believe, is easy to understand.

Osteo and chiro work on assessing and rebalancing the mechanical structures to ensure that these structures can provide the best movement possible.

Physio will move, rehab, stimulate, reinform the joints and muscles to ensure the acquisition of the movement is proper. For that, the structures must be perfectly balanced, which is where our works appear complementary.

Osteo and chiro are linked to the same roots historically. It is a little more complicated than that, but Andrew Taylor Still who is the founder of Osteopathy, opened his school in Kirksville, USA, in 1874. D.D. Palmer, the founder of chiropractic has been one of his students at some point. Palmer didn’t agree with the holistic approach of Osteopathy. The body is a unit and all its structures are interconnected and inter-dependant. Thus, any structure that is out of balance may have an impact on other structures. He believed that only the spine is important. It is true that the spine is important and in Osteopathy the work on the spine is most of the time essential. But we are not just a walking spine. The differences can be seen.

What is important at the end of the day, doesn’t matter who claims to be the best approach, is that the patient finds a solution to his trouble. That he sees results and stability, his symptoms having disappeared (most of the time totally). The rest is just a battle of ego and belief in the greatness of the system we have been programmed with.