Given that osteopathy is almost one hundred percent hands on manual therapy to correct dysfunction within the Healthy Body, it is easy for an osteopathic practitioner to offer their services at a patient’s home or work.
By offering home or work visits, it creates more of a convenience for the patient as they do not have to travel to a clinic when they either do not have time to do so or are in too much discomfort to move around.
When an osteopathic practitioner comes for a home or work visit to a patient, they will come with a portable table, usually a sheet or paper for the patient to lie on and a pillow for patient comfort.
During the first session of a home or work visit, the practitioner will usually set up the table and answer any questions the patient may have while the patient fills out an intake and consent form which is just a set of questions detailing some past medical history the practitioner needs to be made aware of.
Then, the practitioner will begin with their initial assessment beginning with what is the patient’s major complaint, how and when did the pain begin, the level of pain they are experiencing, what makes the pain worse or better, when is the pain the worst or best, any past treatments they have received and any x-rays or imaging they have had done
Following the history taking stage of the assessment, the practitioner will begin the physical assessment by asking if they can feel around the patient’s painful area and other key areas of the Healthy Body that the practitioner feels may be causing the pain. With the consent to touch, the manual osteopath will use palpation which is the art of using their hands for assessment and perform various tests to rule out and pinpoint the cause of the pain.
Once they have a good idea what is the possible cause of pain, they will explain to the patient what their impression of situation is and explain how they can help using osteopathic techniques. Finally, after educating the patient, the practitioner will perform treatment to begin alleviating the pain and fix the misalignment. The treatment will conclude with the practitioner explaining a treatment pain and suggestions for follow up visits if need be and asking the patient if they have any questions.
