How often should you see an osteopath?
We get asked this question frequently, but many factors contribute to the answer. The severity of the injury is one consideration, while maintenance follow-ups can vary from case to case. You should avoid getting into the habit of seeing an Osteopath if you don't currently have an issue that needs treating. Doing this can cause the brain to perceive a problem when there isn't one.
An Osteopath will set a course of appointments when there is an injury to rehabilitate it. Once the client is ready to start placing load or weight on the injury (or "loading the injury"), our osteopath will liaise with our personal trainers to begin a strengthening programme.
For performance, osteopathy can be a great supportive tool for athletes and high performers to ensure they can keep training without running into a serious injury. Therefore, it's common in the sports world for athletes to work with an osteopath multiple times a week to prevent injury and ensure nagging issues are quickly fixed.
What are the benefits of repeat sessions?
While you want to avoid getting in the habit of repeat sessions if there are no issues, there can be benefits depending on your level of activity or goals.
Injury prevention
It's easy to pick up injuries when you're training hard. Keeping on top of these is essential so you don't fall out of the cycle. Similarly, staying injury-free is one of the best ways to achieve your gym or fitness goals and results.
Injuries can also negatively impact our daily lives and stress levels, both of which can contribute to a spiral of discomfort. Preventing injuries before they have a chance to arise helps maintain a positive and healthy quality of life.
Rehabilitating Injuries
Once injury strikes, it's paramount that we recover as quickly and safely as possible. Failing to do so can have detrimental effects on the injured area and the possibility of worsening the injury.
An osteopath can guide you through this process, which is the best way to recover from an injury safely. This allows you to return to normal daily life and training once more.
Learning Our Bodies
An often overlooked benefit of osteopath sessions is understanding your body. There will be days in your training when you can push harder than you thought and others when it seems impossible. It may be frustrating if you're unable to decipher between these days.
It can also cause us to want to push harder and harder to "push past it," but this is exactly when we're more likely to injure ourselves. Working with an osteopath can be physically beneficial, but it's also a way of learning to understand our bodies, their limits, and what we should listen to and look out for.
How long does it take for osteopathy to work?
The benefits are usually immediate, as the manual therapy techniques used by the osteopath give you a pain-free window to increase mobility in the affected area. However, each injury has a different prognosis, and individuals have unique 'healing times'. This means that providing a strict one-size-fits-all answer is impossible.
Clients with common issues such as non-specific lower back pain may feel relief straight away, similarly with tendinopathies exposed to shockwave therapy. Both of these issues feel much better following the first appointment. If lower back spasms are strong, it can take two or three sessions to heal the problem.
Others, such as disc-related issues, muscle and tendon tears, or ruptures, require additional time because the tissue must first be healed. These can take months, and only once the tissue healing is complete can the pain element be resolved.
How long does each osteopathy session last?
Initial consultations are always 45 minutes long. This includes a discussion during which the osteopath collects information on the client and injury to identify the problem and likely causes and to gain a base understanding of where to take a treatment plan.
The osteopath will then follow up with orthopaedic testing to determine the injury's nature and how to treat it. Manual therapy will usually follow up with any required practical intervention, such as ultrasound screening, shockwave therapy, dry needling, etc. Finally, the osteopath will decide on the length of treatment, which depends on the findings in the initial consultation.
Follow-up appointments are typically 30 minutes but can be extended depending on the client's needs. These shorter appointments are usually treatment-focused and shorter because the osteopath has the information needed to initiate the treatment.
This can differ, especially if the client has new symptoms that arise between appointments that need checking.
What about Osteopathy for performance and fitness?
Osteopathy is key to ensuring an athlete stays injury-free. Capitalising on opportunities each week is vital and often the difference between success and failure.
Average use cases are more for injuries sustained during everyday life and individuals wanting to be relieved of the pain as soon as possible.
However, athletes' sessions can last as long as they require, as the osteopath is more likely to be working for a team or part of a specific athlete package to help keep them training and competing at the highest level.
Consistency is key when aiming for success in your chosen sport or field. Thus, using an osteopath will fully maximise this, as you can be assured that you are less likely to get injured while pushing forward to your goals.
What shouldn't you do after an osteopathy session?
While osteopathy sessions can provide the benefits mentioned above, there is the possibility of undoing or damaging the results.
Less intense exercise
We recommend not returning to the same level of intensity you were training at before seeing an osteopath. While you may feel relieved or in less pain after your osteopath session, your body likely still needs time to fully recover.
Immediately jumping back into the same intensity can re-spark the injury, or you may find you do not have the same power as before, possibly causing another related injury.
Avoid being in one position for long periods
Depending on your injury or issue, our osteopath may recommend not staying in one position for long periods. Issues like spasms require you to bring length to the tissue, which is important for healing. Remaining seated for long periods can interfere with this healing process and worsen the injury.
Push through the pain
While potentially motivating, the common phrase "no pain, no gain " is also extremely dangerous to follow after an injury.
Pain is your body's way of telling you to stop.
Respecting it and working within the ranges it allows can help your recovery efforts while ensuring minimal discomfort following an osteopathy session or injury recovery. Ignoring it can quickly lead to new injuries or worsen the previously treated one.
How long does it take to recover from an Osteopath session?
There is no one-size-fits-all time frame for recovery after an osteopath session. Everyone responds differently, especially when their injury is more severe. Most people will experience some immediate relief, a reduction in pain and improved movement/mobility.
Some manual therapy techniques can be intrusive, so feeling drained after an appointment is normal. The body will work hard to rehab the injury, and with the osteopath's input, unusual feelings and feedback from the nervous system are very common side effects of the treatment.
If you're looking for a more accurate estimation of recovery time, you can consult our osteopaths during your sessions once they understand your injury and treatment plan. They can help give you averages or a "loose" recovery window.
This recovery window, however, depends on you actioning everything needed to recover healthily.
Why you might feel tired after an osteopathy session
Tiredness is a result of body correction. These situations can tax the nervous system and induce tiredness due to energy expenditure. However, it is entirely normal to feel this way after an osteopathy session.
Sometimes, appointments can trigger pain for the body to be correct and heal, which can be stressful and also contribute to tiredness.
Why you might feel "weird" after an osteopathy session
Inputs from the osteopath can cause sensations or adjustments that initially feel weird, but this is a perfectly normal sign that recovery is moving in the right direction.
Similarly, if you've gained extra range of motion or movement following your appointment or are able to do things you haven't done in a while due to pain, you may have an odd feeling in the associated limb. This does return to normal fairly quickly, but it's useful to acknowledge it so you don't see the weird feeling as a sign something needs fixing.
Moving forward with your session
So, how many times should you see an osteopath?
In short, it depends on whether you're in significant pain or need regular appointments to accommodate a performance-driven lifestyle.
There is no "ideal" amount of appointments you should have, but the most critical time to see one is when you're in pain, and your quality of life has significantly decreased.
Osteopathy is a fantastic option when there is an issue, but using it when there isn't anything immediately wrong isn't helpful unless you're an athlete on a specific programme. The right osteopath will provide an accurate prognosis and relevant treatment plan to move you out of pain and restore you to health.
Each process can take time, so it's important to be patient and follow the guidance of the osteopath you're working with. Progress can be non-linear, and some days, things may not improve or even get worse.
Trusting the process and not getting disheartened during these times is paramount to a swift recovery.
If you wish to book an osteopath session, you can visit our Osteopathy Page or call us at The Body Lab, Kensington. Our team can provide more information and book you in.
