FAQ

Your first consultation with one of our Osteopaths in Malvern will take approximately 45 mins-1 hour. Your Osteopath will take a thorough history of your presenting complaint and your health in general. Along the way, they may focus on different aspects of your history, which require extra attention. It is helpful to bring along any recent X-Rays or medical test results.
Your Osteopath will then conduct a thorough examination of the whole person using their hands, to try and feel any disturbance of normal healthy motion. This may include orthopaedic tests, neurological tests and osteopathic tests as well as general observation and palpation.
The goal of the practitioner is to support the patient’s journey back to its own Health with treatments, as well as advice on things such as posture, diet and lifestyle. A referral for medical tests or X-rays will be advised if appropriate.
It is best to wear loose, comfortable clothing if possible.

In Australia, Osteopaths are Government registered practitioners with five year, full-time university training which covers anatomy, physiology, pathology and general medical diagnosis in addition to Osteopathic technique. Osteopaths are primary care practitioners, and are trained to be able to recognise conditions which require medical referral. They are also trained to carry out standard medical examinations of the cardiovascular, respiratory and nervous systems. Our Osteopaths regularly undergo further professional development and post graduate study.

You do not need a referral to see an Osteopath as we are primary care practitioners. If you are planning to claim a portion of your treatment costs on Veteran Affairs or Medicare (Enhanced Primary Care Plan) you will need to see your GP first in order to get approval and a referral for those care plans.

Every patient we see is different and each one presents with different problems and a different history. It is because of this that each case is assessed individually and the amount of treatments required will vary. Generally speaking, the longer the issue has been there, the longer it will take to recover. However, this does not allow for how a person responds to treatment or their compliance if advice is given on changing diet, lifestyle or posture. Your Osteopath will always give you as clear an idea as possible regarding ongoing treatment, basing it on how your body responds to treatment and the change in your signs and symptoms.

This is one of the most common questions an Osteopath is asked and is a very hard one to answer. There can be many techniques that may overlap the 3 modalities but each one does bring about its own unique approach. Each modality has its own set of philosophies and principles upon which the techniques used are applied. Which is why even if there are some similar techniques used, it can have a very different effect on the patient.
However, because we are not Chiropractors or Physiotherapists, we can not really answer on their behalf. We can tell you that the main principles behind Osteopathy is that the body is a unit and as such, we look at the body as a whole where its structure and function are interrelated. Therefore, when there is dysfunction or damage to one area of the body, there can also be dysfunction and pain in another. As Osteopaths, we aim to not only treat the symptoms of the problem, but the potential issues behind them. This is why our diagnosis and all of our techniques are adapted individually to treat you, the patient.