What is Osteopathy?
Health is our beginning, our origin, our original nature – it contains our name and it’s meaning
Osteopathy is a manual therapy that focuses on the interrelationship between the structure and function of the body. It is based on the principle that the body has an innate ability to heal itself, provided that the musculoskeletal system is functioning optimally. Osteopaths use hands-on techniques, such as soft tissue massage, joint manipulation and stretching, to improve the body’s structural balance and restore overall health.
Achieve optimal physical health and well-being… book your session today
What is Osteopathy?
Health is our beginning, our origin, our original nature – it contains our name and it’s meaning
Osteopathy is a manual therapy that focuses on the interrelationship between the structure and function of the body. It is based on the principle that the body has an innate ability to heal itself, provided that the musculoskeletal system is functioning optimally. Osteopaths use hands-on techniques, such as soft tissue massage, joint manipulation and stretching, to improve the body’s structural balance and restore overall health.
Achieve optimal physical health and well-being… book your session today
Why Choose Cameron-Mitchell Osteopaths?
We care passionately about the health and well being of our patients. That is why appointments are longer than most other practitioners. You won’t be made to feel rushed and there is always time to ask questions.
We place you, the patient, at the centre your own care. Each patient experiences different day to day stresses and for this reason you will receive a bespoke treatment plan. As the patient, you are involved in every aspect of your treatment and in the decision making process. We want you get you moving better and in less pain as quickly as possible.
It is from these principles that Cameron-Mitchell Osteopaths was born over 34 years.
Your Osteopath
About Duncan – Experienced, Trusted, and Patient-Focused
With nearly 34 years of experience as an osteopath, Duncan has provided over 50,000 treatments, helping patients of all ages on their journey to recovery. Before establishing his own practice, he spent 13 years working in a range of clinics—from small independent practices, where he managed everything from reception to treatment, to large multidisciplinary centres alongside physiotherapists, chiropractors, acupuncturists, and other specialists.
This diverse experience has given Duncan a deep understanding of holistic care. If osteopathy isn’t the right solution for you, he believes in finding the best practitioner who can help—because no one expert has all the answers, but the right network can make all the difference.
Your Osteopath
About Duncan – Experienced, Trusted, and Patient-Focused
With nearly 34 years of experience as an osteopath, Duncan has provided over 50,000 treatments, helping patients of all ages on their journey to recovery. Before establishing his own practice, he spent 13 years working in a range of clinics—from small independent practices, where he managed everything from reception to treatment, to large multidisciplinary centres alongside physiotherapists, chiropractors, acupuncturists, and other specialists.
This diverse experience has given Duncan a deep understanding of holistic care. If osteopathy isn’t the right solution for you, he believes in finding the best practitioner who can help—because no one expert has all the answers, but the right network can make all the difference.
FAQ
Put simply, osteopaths use hands on techniques, to help people in pain, feel better.
We take the time to listen to your problem and concerns and after conducting a thorough examination, our expert osteopaths will get to the root cause of your problem.
Osteopaths look at the whole body, not just the part that hurts. All parts of the body are interconnected, so an imbalance in one area can affect another.
We also consider how your lifestyle affects your pain, such as your job, commute, hobbies, how you sleep, diet, stress levels.
We put all this information together to build a picture of you as a whole person, not just a “symptom”.
It’s important to us that you fully understand your pain. We want you to leave your appointment with a better understanding of why your problem has occurred and a clear action plan of how we are going to help you to feel better.
We are here to guide you and empower you with the knowledge of how to prevent your pain from reoccurring.
Osteopaths are degree educated, are fully insured and registered with the General Osteopathic Council. It is an offense for someone to call themselves an osteopath if they aren’t registered.
Our hands-on techniques will help to relieve your pain and get you moving. We work on:
- muscles
- joints
- ligaments and tendons
- nerves
- bespoke exercises to put you in control of your health again
We use our hands to:
- massage (soft tissue techniques)
- stretch and mobilise the joints
- manipulate the joints
We also offer:
- medical acupuncture
We will guide you on bespoke exercises and advice to take home with you, putting you back in control. We aren’t just interested in a ‘quick fix’. Our bespoke advice gives you the knowledge to understand your pain and how you can manage and prevent it, now and into the future.
Physiotherapists often work within the NHS and help people to recover following a physical illness or injury or people with developmental problems or disability. They often use equipment such as TENs machines or ultra sound and prescribe rehabilitative exercises. Traditionally they would tend to focus on treating the specific areas of pain, but Physiotherapists in private practice have more autonomy over how they treat patients.
Osteopaths v Chiropractors
People often get confused about the difference between Chiropractors and Osteopaths as we use similar techniques, work in private practice and see many of the same conditions. Chiropractors primarily focus on the alignment of the spinal joints and on the effects of the spine on individual nerve branches that stem from between the segments.
What makes us different?
Osteopaths traditionally use a wider variety of treatment techniques including soft-tissue massage, muscle stretching, joint articulation/mobilisation, manipulation and Cranial Osteopathy.
Within each profession individual practitioners develop their own unique style of practice and you as an individual need to find what works for you and ensure that they are properly trained.
What should you wear when seeing an osteopath?
For the examination you will be asked to undress down to your underwear / remove some of your clothing, down to your underwear. If you are uncomfortable with this for personal or religious reasons please discuss it with your Osteopath. If you prefer to wear shorts, please bring them with you, or they can be provided on request. We want you to feel comfortable and relaxed during your treatment with us.
Osteopaths look for the root cause of a problem. This may involve seeing and examining areas of the body that don’t necessarily cause pain but may be related to the problem – which is why its normal to be asked to remove some clothing, so we can accurately assess the areas that may be involved in your pain.
The Osteopath will explain everything as they go along but if you are unsure please feel free to ask the osteopath to stop or explain again what they are doing and why.
You may be asked to remove some of your clothes as this will alow the osteopath to examine the area and observe your posture. If this is a problem , please let you osteopath know and we can accommodate you accordingly. Our main aim is to make you feel comfortable and happy during your treatment.
Simply let your osteopath know and they will talk about alternative approaches. We use a wide variety of techniques to restore function.
Sometimes people do feel slightly tender post treatment and this may last 24-48 hours. If you are in any way concerned please call to let us know how you feel and we can advise you on what to do.
On the first consultation, we will take a full case history. This will be about your present complaint as well as about your past medical history. After, your osteopath will start an examination. This normally involves you standing and doing some movements. Your osteopath will observe these movements and might do additional orthopaedic tests, palpate (feel) muscles and move joints to help make a diagnosis. This diagnosis and treatment plan will be explained to you.
If you are happy, your osteopath will start treatment. Osteopathy is a ‘package’ of care that includes skilled mobilising and manipulative techniques, reinforced by guidance on lifestyle and exercise.
At the end of the session your osteopath will estimate the likely number of sessions you need to treat your condition effectively. If your osteopath thinks that your condition is unlikely to respond to osteopathic treatment, you will be advised about how to seek further care. Osteopaths are skilled in diagnostic techniques and trained to identify when a patient needs to be referred to a GP.
Many private health insurance policies provide cover for osteopathic treatment. It may be possible to claim for a course of treatment but you should check in advance with your insurance company before seeking osteopathic treatment, in order to confirm the available level of cover and whether you will need to have a referral from your GP or a specialist.
Yes. Any information disclosed to us is strictly private and confidential. If we feel the need to refer you to another healthcare professional this would be discussed this with you first. We would only make a referral with your consent.
All your personal data is held in accordance with GDPR.
Every patient is different. Two patients who appear to have the same condition may require different numbers of treatment to get better. General health, previous accidents, how long you’ve had the problem, work and lifestyle factors can all have a bearing on how quickly you will recover.
Following the initial examination the Osteopath will discuss what they think is causing your problem, how Osteopathy can help and how many sessions it is likely to take. Sometimes, if the problem is more complex we may suggest an initial course of treatments i.e 3-4. They will then reassess progress and effectiveness of the treatment plan.
Patients with chronic, longstanding problems may require management rather than complete resolution. In these instances patients will be given advice about exercise and self management and will also benefit from intermittent maintenance sessions with the Osteopath.
Yes, of course you can. We want you to feel as comfortable as possible. If you would like a family member or friend to act as a chaperone they are more than welcome. Please note that any patient under the age of 16 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
Osteopaths treat misalignments and imbalances in the spinal column that affect our ability to function at our best. These imbalances can present themselves in many ways, manifesting as back pain, neck pain, headaches, shoulder issues, pains in other joints like the knee and ankle, muscle tension and an inability to relax, disc issues such as a disc prolapse or hernia, and sciatica. Rather than treating the symptoms, we look for the root cause by assessing your posture and spinal movement.
Although this is a treatment approach that osteopaths are highly skilled in this is not their only option to improve movement, so if you are unhappy or it is not appropriate in your case other methods can be used.
Do I need to bring anything?
You don’t need to bring anything, however any medical notes/scan results or a prescription list could be beneficial and we can also put these onto your patient file for future reference.
What should I wear?
Anything you are comfortable in, loose baggy clothing/something that isn’t restrictive is the best.
In Cheltenham, there is a lot of metered road parking. Perhaps the road behind the practice is best, Montpellier Road North.
In Worcester, Bromwich Lane has 45 minutes free parking and is 30 seconds from the front door. Altenatively, Sainsbury’s car park in two hours free and is a two minute walk away.
I first saw Duncan, two years ago, when I had a very painful shoulder and had to work at an event where I would be using my arms and shoulders all the time. Duncan treated me and managed to get me through the event which was nothing short of a miracle. Since then both my father and my brother-in-law have also become patients of Duncan and found his services to be exceptional. Duncan is both friendly and entirely professional and I would be happy to recommend his services to anyone.
I had two sessions with Duncan which were incredibly beneficial and helped to ease my lower back pain. I found Duncan to be professional and informative and you can tell he really cares about what he practices. I highly recommend his practice for anybody who’s experiencing pain!
I was suffering with a combination of shoulder, back and knee issues which Duncan got to grips with, alleviating the discomfort and leaving me feeling reinvigorated and refreshed. I’d definitely recommend giving him a go. I found the treatment more effective than some acupuncture and physiotherapy i’d had in the past.
