At its core, Osteopathy is a manual therapy (similar to physio, Chiro or myo therapy) that assesses, treats and manages health complaints.

Osteopathic Medicine utilises many techniques to influence the systems of the body; Musculoskeletal, Fascial, Lymphatic, Neural, Circulatory, Respiratory and Visceral (to name a few). It is because of this holistic view of the body that we can get to the cause of your problem and not just treat symptoms.

Aether is founded on the following principles…

• The human being is a dynamic unit of function.

• The body possesses self-regulatory mechanisms that are self-healing in nature.

• Structure and function are interrelated at all levels.

• Rational treatment is based on these principles.

First of all thank you for booking in, we understand that finding a new clinic and meeting a new osteopath can be a huge step in your health journey.

The initial appointment is a longer consultation as we take the time to get to know you. We ask lots of questions to make sure we understand all aspects of your concern and dive into your past health history so we have a well rounded view of how you have gotten to where you are today.

After taking your case history, we will explain to you what assessment will need to be done and what treatment plan we believe will best suit you. Once you are fully informed and happy to proceed we start the assessment of your body.

An assessment will involve you following basic instructions so we can see what is moving well and what isn’t moving optimally. We analyse where the pain might be coming from and take a holistic view of the condition you are presenting with.

Then we start treatment. The treatment will be tailored to what your assessment has presented, with a goal of finding the root cause and not just treating the symptoms.

After the treatment we will explain more of the management plan; how long we believe it could take to feel 100%, what some of the barriers might be, how many appointments you might need and what you can do at home to help with the progress.

Throughout the whole of your consultation with the Osteopath you have autonomy over your body. We try our hardest to make sure you are comfortable at all times but if for whatever reason you have the control to withdraw your consent. This is your time.

Not a lot is required for the appointment.

If you have any relevant scans or doctor letters, referrals or test results please bring them along, the more information the better. However, it is not required for us to be able to help you.

Wear loose fitting or flexible clothing, this will help us see the full range of your body.

Bring your Health Insurance card as you can claim on the spot and a bank card or cash to pay the gap.

No, you do not need a referral from your doctor to see an Osteopath.

However, if you are planning on using the medicare funded rebate you will need to bring the information provided by your doctor to the initial appointment to be able to claim on the spot rebates.

We will require a Debit card (not credit) and your Medicare Card to complete this process.

Yes, if you have extras supporting Osteopathic Treatment.

Bring your health insurance card along and you can claim the rebate on the spot, only requiring you to pay the gap.

Most of the time you will walk out of your appointment feeling better. However it is not uncommon to have post-treatment tenderness and tiredness as we sometimes need to provoke the tissues to find the source of the pain or to create a healing response.

I like to think of this as ‘DOMS’ - delayed onset muscle soreness - that we experience at the gym all the time when you are pushing yourself and trying new exercises. It takes a while for your body to adjust.

This post treatment soreness should only last a day or two. If these symptoms persist please contact us! We are here to help and advise.

Here are some things to help you post treatment:

• drinking lots of water

• avoid strenuous exercise 24 hrs post treatment

• follow management advice from your health care professional

• getting a good night's sleep

• magnesium or arnica cream on the sore/treated muscles, heat packs or ice packs can help too.

This is a very hard question to answer as every person and their health is individualised and therefore the management will be tailored.

However as a general rule we like to see a patient for at least 3 consecutive sessions to really see a significant change. If there hasn’t been a significant improvement within the first 3 appointments it is our obligation to re-assess the management and discuss with you about possible referrals or scans.

After your initial appointment we will discuss with you a management plan. This will include:

• Working Diagnosis: A professional opinion of what is happening in your body

• Prognosis: How long we expect for you to feel 100% better

• Goals: Your personal goal to aim for and keep us on track

• What you can do at home: Exercises and stretches that will help your prognosis

• Plan for review: When your next appointment will be, this includes expectation of upcoming appointments as well.

Prevention is better than cure! This comes to your body as well, it's always a good idea to have treatment to avoid injuries before they happen. We recommend coming in for a tune up every 8-12 weeks at minimum to make sure there is nothing brewing and to keep you as comfortable as possible within your daily life activities.