Active X Osteopathic Services
Osteopathy is a system of diagnosis and treatment for a wide range of medical conditions. It works with the structure and function of the body and is based on the principle that the well-being of an individual depends on the skeleton, muscles, ligaments and connective tissues functioning smoothly together. The profession is regulated by the General Osteopathic Council (GOsC) and it is a criminal offence to describe oneself as an osteopath unless registered with this body. Our osteopaths are registered with GOsC, adhere to its code of conduct and surpass its annual requirements for Continuous Professional Development.
To an osteopath, for your body to work well, its structure must also work well. So osteopaths work to restore your body to a state of balance, where possible without the use of drugs or surgery. Osteopaths use touch, physical manipulation, stretching and massage to increase the mobility of joints, to relieve muscle tension, to enhance the blood and nerve supply to tissues, and to help your body’s own healing mechanisms. They may also provide advice on correct posture and exercise to aid recovery, promote health and prevent symptoms recurring. Osteopaths are perhaps best known for helping people with lower back problems, and there is good scientific evidence for this working well (see this BMJ Report on the effectiveness of physical treatments for back pain). We have patients from across Edinburgh, Fife and the Lothians, but a huge concentration from EH4 and EH12.
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Gavin Routledge DO(Hons) MSc is Vice Patron of the British School of Osteopathy, author of “The Back Book” and “active X backs – An effective long-term solution to lower back pain”. He was a Gold Medallist at the British School of Osteopathy in 1991, has a Masters Degree from the University of Edinburgh in The Clinical Management of Pain and has worked in Edinburgh, Scotland for most of his 25 years in practice, always specialising in – and now revolutionising – the management and treatment of lower back pain and sciatica.
We adhere to lower back pain guidelines published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, are registered with the General Osteopathic Council and are members of The International Association for the Study of Pain.
