Osteopathy is a distinct, body-wide approach to treating pain and physical problems.  It is primarily, but certainly not exclusively, a hands-on manipulative therapy aimed at releasing tensions, compressions and distortions of the physical parts of the body, be they joints, muscles, ligaments, fascia or any combination of these.

An Osteopath looks to assess each individual that comes to them in a unique way, considering that person’s presenting issue, their medical and physical injury histories, their lifestyle and work demands, their expectations, hopes and beliefs.  Put simply, anything that might help provide tailored, effective and lasting treatment and advice.

The range of treatment styles offered within osteopathy can be extremely varied, limited only by the interests and personal experience of each individual practitioner. In the case of Keystone Osteopathy, the range of options are discussed a little more here.

Osteopathy is a fully regulated profession, governed by the General Osteopathic Council (GOsC), and is considered to have equal standing in professional terms with doctors, dentists, nurses or any other regulated health group.  For further reference, see the GOsC definition of Osteopathy.

In truth, every Osteopath will treat a little differently to any other – there are as many different ways of looking at the body as there are pairs of eyes out there! However, what all Osteopaths have in common is an extremely in-depth knowledge of anatomy (what and where things are), physiology (how things work) and physical pathologies (how things go wrong). By applying these to a presenting issue, and taking the luxury of time to work things out (initial diagnostic sessions are often an hour long – more if needs be), the Osteopath will consider the whole of the body, and how one part might influence others, to explain why something had failed to cope and then not been able to recover.  From there, a treatment plan can be constructed, discussed with the patient, and hopefully implemented.

The initial session is based around five stages.  Firstly, a history of your current issue(s), past physical traumas, medical history, medication history and questions on lifestyle.  With all of this, I can start to hypothesise what might be going on.

The second stage is a physical examination, including you moving around in various ways, and then being moved around by the therapist, usually when sitting or lying down. This stage helps me establish your limitations, where it is painful and tender, along with broader ideas of where in the body the causative or maintaining factors may be hiding.  It is also the point where I might do a range of special tests, both physical and medical (e.g. neurological tests, blood pressure test, specialist joint tests…). All of this will enable us to start piecing you together to make sense of what is going wrong.

Stage three is to try and explain things as best I can, given the information so far gathered.  I will admit that there are times when this initial “diagnosis” will have to be modified based on more information that comes to light later on. However, at this stage, there should be enough for me to construct a sensible rationale for treatment or referral for further testing if necessary.

Stage four is usually treatment.  This might be hands-on, exercise advice, first-aid advice or a combination of these (see Range of Treatment).  I will always get your permission before starting a treatment session, and give you the chance to say “no” or ask questions at any stage.

The final part of the session is usually to retest things, get an immediate appraisal of what has or hasn’t changed and then, if appropriate, a little more advice.

During any session of Osteopathic treatment, you are likely to be asked to reveal parts of the body.  Generally speaking, the more we can see, the less we can miss and the more accurate our diagnosis might be. However, we must always respect the sensitivities of every patient.  Hence, if you are unhappy to undress, we can always find a middle ground. To that end, it is a good idea to bring shorts or a loose fitting top to treatments; anything you are comfortable being in.

Let’s be honest…  most people come to an Osteopath because of pain.  As a result, it is likely that at times during a session this pain will either be reproduced to help with diagnosis, or triggered because of certain movements. That is not to say that things will be worse.  Indeed, our overriding aim is always to ultimately try and reduce the pain.

It should be noted that there are instances where it might be desirable to flare things up for a matter of hours to a day or two to trigger a more successful healing process in the body.  However, your therapist will always do their best to pre-empt these possibilities, and discuss options and get permission from you before embarking on such a course of action.

As you might imagine, it is hard before assessing someone to give an honest or informed answer to this one. It is always my aim to give a sensible idea of what will be needed at the end of the first session.  There are times when I must wait to see what happens after the first treatment to get a better idea/narrow down my “differential diagnosis”. Hence, there are times when it might only be in the second session that I can really give a fair answer.

Rest assured, I have built my reputation around trying to find the most expedient way to help my patients, but this must always be tempered by what you as a patient are willing to accept.

Difficult question to answer! I would like to think I can bring the most appropriate aspects of many different physical therapies to bear when considering your treatment.  I do not believe that one should be limited by a title – every type of therapy has its strengths. So how am I different? Maybe it’s that I have chosen to try and combine these strengths, to offer a broad approach to your care.  My roots are firmly in the basic concepts of Osteopathy, including the idea that “Structure governs function” and “the body has its own medicine chest”. However, sometimes knowledge of rehabilitation is vital and ultimately combines well in the latter stages of many problems I see.

Absolutely! If I feel you are not making appropriate progress, or if we need more information to understand what is going on, I have a wide range of contacts I can lean on or refer to (and vice-versa).  It is this integrated approach to care that makes me able to be confident to meet anyone who walks through the door, and know that I will ultimately see you through to resolution or onto the most appropriate channels as fast as possible.  See my useful links page to view some of the people I work with on a regular basis.

Picture an old-fashioned stone bridge.  The genius of the engineering of these structures should never be underestimated.  The Keystone is the central block at the apex of the bridge – specially designed in a wedge shape, it stops the two sides of the bridge from falling in on themselves. In fact, if the stone is in good condition, this design will allow the bridge to take immense weights and stay totally stable.

If we look around us we can see this form of engineering repeated in nature, and the human body is no exception. One of the basic concepts used in body function is force distribution, and keystones enable us to transmit or support very large forces without breaking down.  The best example of a form of keystone in the body is the Sacrum – the roughly triangular bone in the pelvis, at the base of the spine. If this gets out of kilter, the forces running through it will start to build up rather than dissipate, causing strain and possibly break-down and pain (often a root cause of back pain…).  Other examples are found in the feet, the spine and the skull.

So why Keystone?  Because a properly functioning keystone in the body really is the natural support for your physical health.

I used to think an awkward name like Ruari was a bit of a curse. Then I became an adult and realised that being a bit different was no bad thing.  Especially when your Celtic name translates as “Red King” – now that’s an aspiration! However, in these days of Google searches, my name has become a bit of an issue again.  As such, if you searched for me as Rory Scott, Rauri Scott, Ruri Scott or Ruairi Scott, then hopefully this page has helped you find me. If so, welcome!