Consultation > Examination > Treatment
First, the osteopath will get a full case history from you, so that they may understand the whole picture of your health, past and present. Then they may ask you to remove some of your clothing so that they can view your mechanics closely as they do a physical examination, then they will ask you to do some movements so that they can get an idea of what is OK and how you can move. Having done an examination, they will discuss the options that they identify for you. For instance, they may suggest a course of osteopathic sessions to see how much improvement can be achieved, give you some exercises or lifestyle advice which will make a positive difference to your health, or refer you on to a different specialist. Usually osteopathic manual treatment is included at your first consultation, though this, of course, cannot be guaranteed in every case. There are a wide variety of treatment methods they may choose – from soft tissue massage or stretching to improve the mobility of the joints, to the HVT technique (which can cause a joint to “click” and work more smoothly afterwards), or very gentle release or cranio-sacral osteopathic techniques which may be more suitable for young children and elderly patients. The osteopaths at Stella Arden & Associates draw upon their knowledge of structural and cranio-sacral osteopathic techniques as appropriate for each individual case; these methods may vary from session to session, according to what the patient’s body needs to be worked on that day. It is our aim to help you achieve better health by helping you to balance out the parts of your body which are overworking, and those which are over-strained, helping your whole body feel more fluent and healthier, starting at your first visit, it is our aim to achieve better health.
You may notice the big differences between fees for the treatments offered by Stella and her colleagues: this is because of the difference in the time taken over the appointments. Stella takes her time (often at least 90 minutes for a follow-up appointment, and twice that for an initial consultation!) so can see only a handful of patients during the day. You are more likely to see one of Stella's outstanding associates for your first appointment if your problem is very sudden (or “acute”), as they have more appointments available for you. In this way we can offer quick pain relief for many patients.