The short answer
Osteopathy is a form of manual medicine that looks at everything your joints, muscles, nerves, posture, lifestyle, history and tries to work out what is actually causing your problem, not just where it hurts.
Most people come to us with pain. But pain is rarely the whole story. It is usually the end result of something that has been building elsewhere a restriction here, a compensation there, a pattern the body has been running for years before it finally breaks down. Our job is to find that pattern and address it at the source.
Where it hurts is rarely where the problem is. Our job is to find where the problem actually is.
What most people get wrong
The two most common misconceptions about osteopathy are that it only treats backs, and that it is something to do with bones. Neither is accurate.
Common misconception
Osteopaths just fix bad backs and it's something to do with bones.
What it actually is
Osteopaths treat the whole body joints, muscles, nerves, posture, and the relationships between them. Back pain is common, but so are headaches, jaw pain, hip problems, sports injuries, nerve pain, and much more.
Common misconception
Osteopathy is an alternative therapy, like complementary medicine.
What it actually is
Osteopathy is a regulated healthcare profession. Osteopaths are primary contact practitioners you can come directly to us without a GP referral, just as you would with a physiotherapist or podiatrist.
How osteopathy is regulated
This is something many patients do not know and it matters. Osteopathy in the UK is regulated by statute under the Osteopaths Act 1993. This means it is illegal to call yourself an osteopath without being registered with the General Osteopathic Council (GOsC). You cannot practise if you are not on the register.
This puts osteopathy in the same category of statutory regulation as other established healthcare professions:
Osteopaths
GOsC
Osteopaths Act 1993
Physiotherapists
HCPC
Health Professions Order 2001
Podiatrists
HCPC
Health Professions Order 2001
Optometrists
GOC
Opticians Act 1989
Registration requires a recognised degree in osteopathy, ongoing continuing professional development, professional indemnity insurance, and adherence to a code of practice. GOsC can remove practitioners from the register. The public can check any osteopath's registration at any time.
David Feherty (GOsC reg. 1169) and Reece Jones (GOsC reg. 11674) are both registered and can be verified on the GOsC public register.
What does an osteopath actually do?
An osteopath uses their hands to assess and treat your body. Techniques include soft tissue work, joint mobilisation, manipulation, muscle energy technique, and specialist approaches such as craniosacral therapy. The specific techniques used depend entirely on the clinical picture.
But before any of that, there is a thorough consultation and assessment. We need to understand what is happening and why before we start treating. A good osteopathic assessment takes time and it considers far more than the presenting complaint.
We will look at how you move, where you restrict, what your history tells us, and how the different parts of your body are relating to each other. We treat the whole person, not just the area that hurts.
What can osteopathy treat?
The GOsC recognises osteopathy as effective for a range of musculoskeletal conditions. At this practice we commonly treat:
Back and neck pain, sciatica, sciatic-type pain from sacroiliac joint dysfunction, headaches, migraines, frozen shoulder, tennis elbow, arthritic pain, sports injuries, jaw pain and TMD, fibromyalgia, neuralgia, and generalised musculoskeletal pain.
We also offer specialist services including craniosacral therapy, acupuncture, dry needling, and golf performance assessment through David's TPI certification.
If you are not sure whether osteopathy is appropriate for what you have, the best thing to do is call us. We will be honest about whether we can help and, if not, who you should see instead.
Is it the same as chiropractic?
Osteopathy and chiropractic are related but distinct professions with different philosophical foundations and training. Both involve manual treatment of the musculoskeletal system. The key differences lie in the underlying approach.
Osteopathy is built on a whole-body, whole-person philosophy the body as an integrated unit, structure governing function, and the body's inherent capacity to self-regulate and heal. Chiropractic traditionally has a stronger focus on the spine and its relationship to the nervous system.
In practice, the differences between an experienced osteopath and an experienced chiropractor may be smaller than the differences between two practitioners within the same profession. Both are regulated. Both can be effective. The right question is not which profession but which practitioner.