As an osteopath, you're likely to work in a clinical setting, such as an osteopathy practice or a hospital. Other possibilities include community centres, and rehab or sports-medicine organisations. Consultancy roles are common too, especially in sports-related fields.
Treating a wide and varied range of ailments, you could see patients with any of the following common musculoskeletal conditions:
- general neck or back pain
- disc bulges
- scoliosis
- arthritis
- sciatica
- repetitive strain injuries
- sports injuries
- postural problems
- discomfort or pain due to pregnancy
- tendonitis
- plantar fasciitis.
As well as the above, it’s likely you’ll deal with a range of conditions that aren’t joint or tissue related, but involve other systems that play a role in our body’s health and healing processes. These might include:
- chronic or repetitive headaches
- neuralgia
- vertigo
- digestive or gastrointestinal issues.
Osteopaths employ many different manual techniques in their treatments. You might find yourself carrying out soft-tissue stretching and massage, spinal mobilisation and manipulation, joint articulation, or muscle resistance exercises.
As well as physical treatment, a large part of the job is communicating with your patients. You would take a case history to ensure that you know enough about your patient's background and daily life to shape your treatment, and come up with a tailored treatment plan.
This might include informing them about a diagnosis, detailing exercise or stretching techniques, health and lifestyle plans, a referral to another specialist or a recommendation for repeated treatment.