Osteopathy
What is it?
Osteopathy is a healthcare profession where the wellbeing of an individual is considered as a whole to ensure the bones, muscles, ligaments and connective tissues function together smoothly.
Many people rely on their Osteopath for care and maintenance of their bodies as part of a healthy lifestyle. Osteopathy awakens the miraculous healing power of the human body. It is a natural medicine without side effects, sympathetically working with you to heal your body.
Perhaps the most important characteristic of an Osteopath is the use of the highly trained "palpation" method. Palpation means the use of our hands to feel and sense what is going on in your body so we can literally feel what is at fault. It also assists us in monitoring progress as the treatment proceeds. This leads to a high success rate as the Osteopath can feel how their treatment working and adjust in real time as necessary.
It is also extraordinarily safe with a risk of serious complications from treatment so low as to be virtually unmeasurable.
Osteopathy – The Legalities
Osteopaths are statutorily regulated health care professionals and form an integral part of primary healthcare. British Osteopaths see over six million patients a year. At the Penn Clinic we have in excess of nine thousand consultations per year.
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Following an act of Parliament, the General Osteopathic Council regulates and develops the Osteopathic profession in the United Kingdom maintaining a statutory register of those entitled to practice. Only those that have completed a four to five-year honours degree programme at an accredited training course are eligible for registration with the General Osteopathic Council.
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The British Medical Associations guidance for General Practitioners states that doctors can safely refer patients to Osteopaths.