For some people, when they have an injury they are not sure whether to see an Osteopath or Physio in Bristol.
So I thought it would be useful to highlight a few differences between the two professions, and where there are areas where the two professions overlap in terms of patient management.
The first thing patients need to be aware of is that all Osteopaths and Physios in Bristol are heavily regulated by bodies that oversee the levels of professional care given, to ensure that we are practicing safely, and that all are applying best practice in our treatment of patients.
As an experienced Osteopath with 26 years' experience, my Henleaze-based clinic is regulated by the General Osteopathic Council (GOsC).
There are a few key differences between how an Osteopath works compared to a Physio. To find out about these key differences, visit here.
What does a Physio treat?
Physios in Bristol are best known for treating sports injuries.
A Physio is usually the first person you'll see running onto a pitch to treat an injured player. They are also commonly found providing rehab following injury or surgery.
There is some overlap here with Osteopathic care that is provided in Bristol.
My time as a Bristol Osteopath has been very much centered in the area of sports treatment and injury rehab.
I have treated and managed professional athletes, including a professional rugby team when I first started out. I still treat many elite athletes.
I'm also fortunate to have a wide variety of patients for whom I provide osteopathic treatments in Bristol.
Cranial Osteopathy another specialized area I focus on, giving treatment to the very young, as well as helping elderly patients to maintain healthy movement.
This helps them to enjoy a far better quality of life in every area.
What is distinctive about Bristol Osteopathic care?
Some of the key differentiators patients will see with an Osteopath include:
Bristol Osteopaths treat the whole patient, not just a localized injury area. This can and often does include distant but related areas in the body.
Osteopaths provide a holistic approach to treatment to ensure that not only the injured site is treated but also to target the predisposing areas and maintain factors of a patient's condition.
No condition is the same, and a good Bristol Osteopath will treat each patient as an individual.
Management plans for patients are entirely individual, and so treatments for seemingly similar problems will differ for each patient.
I believe that prevention is better than cure, and an Osteopath will aim to try and prevent injury.
This is where Maintenance Osteopathic Treatments can be so useful. Visit here to find out more.
The therapeutic hands-on approach from an Osteopath in Bristol means that patients benefit from a caring and sensitive manual treatment. This can really help patients, when everything is moving towards a hands-off focus.
Please visit here to find out what a patient should expect from a good Osteopath in Bristol.
Osteopathic care is centered upon holistic and patient-centered treatment to get to the root cause of problems while restoring equilibrium in a patient and promoting whole body health.
To find out more about the full range of osteopathic treatments provided at Alex Prince Osteopathy in Bristol, please visit here for details.