Ontario Association Of Osteopathic Manual Practitioners, Toronto Canada Osteopathy

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Your Appointment with a Manual Practitioner

At your first appointment, the osteopathic manual practitioner should always:

1. Conduct a thorough survey of your health

The practitioner might want to learn a lot about your current and past health, to find out:

• what problem is bothering you now
• what general health issues you have, if any
• what medical treatments you have had throughout your life

2. Give you a physical examination

The manual practitioner should examine you physically to check your condition and make sure it is safe for you to receive osteopathic treatment. They may also assess the systems and structures of your body that may be related to your complaint, such as

• your posture
• your gait (the way you walk)
• the motion of your joints

The practitioner should also palpate various areas of your body to learn about

• the tone of your tissues (their strength and tension)
• whether there are any restrictions
• your biorhythm

It's a good idea to wear loose clothing, such as shorts and a T-shirt or sports bra.

3. Develop a treatment plan

Together, you and your osteopathic manual practitioner should review the results of your health survey and physical examination. Based on all this information, the osteopath should propose a treatment plan for you.

• check to see the results of your previous treatment
• reassess the areas to be treated
• use one or more of the osteopathic treatment methods, depending on what you need Your body needs time to adapt to each treatment, especially if your problem is chronic.

A week is usually enough time for your body to adapt, so in most cases treatments are given once a week or once every 2 weeks. As your condition starts to improve, you will need treatments less often.

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