- General Osteopathic Council no.
- DEMO-OS4101
- Languages
- English
- Days
- Mon · Tue · Thu · Fri
Next Tue 08:15Book with Ruth →
Plate I
Back & neck
Osteopathy first visit
45 minutes with a GOsC-registered osteopath: what is going on, treatment on the day, and a plan with a number of visits.
Acute back pain today, otherwise within 48 hours
Plate I, fig. 1The plate
What it is, in plain words.
The first visit does three jobs: works out what is causing the pain, starts treating it with our hands, and ends with a plan you can read that evening.
What happens
- Fifteen minutes of questions: how it started, what makes it better or worse, how you sit, sleep and work, and what you want back
- Watching you move, then examining the joints and tissues by hand; the osteopath explains what they feel as they go
- Treatment on the day: soft-tissue work, stretching, mobilising and, if it will help and you agree, manipulation (the click)
- Two or three things to do at home, and a plan with an honest number of visits and a review point at visit three
You do not need a GP referral. Bupa, AXA Health, Vitality and WPA are billed directly with your authorisation number; Simplyhealth and Medicash cash plans pay you back with our receipt.
Average 3.6 visits to discharge; 72% clearly improved by visit 3 (2025, demonstration data)
Osteopathy first visitPlate I
£6445 minutes
or from £42 a month on a membership
- length
- 45 min
- price
- £64
- sessions
- 1, then about 3
- insurer
- Bupa, AXA, Vitality, WPA billed directly
No GP referral needed. Move or cancel up to 24 hours ahead at no charge.
Plate I, fig. 2What happens
Visit by visit, sheet by sheet.
Weekly at first, then spaced out; a scored review before anything is booked on hope.
What £64 includes
- 45 minutes one-to-one with a GOsC-registered osteopath
- Case history and a hands-on examination, explained as it happens
- Treatment on the day, with your consent for each technique
- A written summary and two or three exercises by email the same evening
- A plan with the expected number of visits and a review at visit three
- A letter to your GP if you want one
What should I wear?
Something loose you can move in. For a back or hip we may ask you to strip to underwear or wear shorts; we have shorts and a gown, a towel covers you, and you can keep leggings on if you prefer. You can bring someone with you. Say what you are comfortable with and we work around it.
Risks, in plain words
- 1.Soreness or tiredness for a day or two after treatment, common and short-lived
- 2.Occasionally a flare that settles within a week; tell us and we adjust
- 3.Manipulation carries rare risks; we screen for them and never manipulate without your consent
- 4.No treatment works for everyone: about one in six people are no better by visit four and we say so and refer on
Consent is asked for each technique. You can decline any of them and still be treated.
- I
Visit 1
Examination, first treatment, a plan with a number of visits; summary and exercises by email that evening
- II
Days 1 to 2
Possible soreness like after a workout; keep moving gently, use heat, do the exercises
- III
Visit 2, within a week
What changed? Treatment progressed; the exercises get harder or fewer
- IV
Visit 3, the review
You score your pain and function against visit one; if we are not clearly ahead we change the plan or refer you on
- V
Visits 4 to 6, spaced out
Fortnightly then monthly as you take over; most people are discharged by visit four
- VI
Discharge
A maintenance plan, what would bring you back, and the option of a monthly membership if you want a hand on it
Plate I, fig. 3For, and not for
Who it suits, and who we send elsewhere first.
For
- New back, neck, shoulder or hip pain
- Pain that has been around for months
- Stiffness from sitting, driving or gardening
- Sciatica and referred leg pain
- People who want to understand the problem, not just have it rubbed
- Seen
- Acute back pain today, otherwise within 48 hours
- Price
- £64
- Length
- 45 minutes
- With
- Ruth Ashdown
- Door
- Ground floor, step-free
Not for, or not first
- Numbness around the saddle area, new trouble with bladder or bowel control, or weakness in both legs (A&E now)
- Back pain with unexplained weight loss, fever or night sweats (see your GP this week first)
- A fall, crash or impact with pain you cannot bear weight through (urgent care for an X-ray first)
- Chest pain, breathlessness or a headache unlike any you have had (999 or 111 first)
Not sure? Is it my back, my posture or my desk?
Plate I, fig. 4Prices
Osteopathy: every price.
Self-pay prices, fixed before you book
- First visit, 45 minutes£64
- Follow-up, 30 minutes£52
- Block of 4 follow-ups (£48 each)£192
- Block of 8 follow-ups (£45 each)£360
- Dry needling, added to a visit£12
- Video advice call, 20 minutes£30
Self-pay prices, fixed before you book.Prices & blocks →
Follow-ups, per visit
- Pay as you go£52
The right choice if your plan is two or three visits.
- Block of 4£48
Saves £16 on 4 visits
- Block of 8£45
Saves £56 on 8 visits
After discharge, maintenance memberships from £42 a month.
What should I wear?
Something loose you can move in. For a back or hip we may ask you to strip to underwear or wear shorts; we have shorts and a gown, a towel covers you, and you can keep leggings on if you prefer. Tell us what you are comfortable with.
Will you crack my back?
Only if it is likely to help and you want it. The click is gas releasing in a joint, not bone; it is one technique among many and plenty of people never have it.
Sudden severe back pain?
Acute back pain seen today.
Phone and Grace answers. Say where it hurts and whether you can do mornings.
01632 960440everything else within 48 hours. No GP referral needed.
Two doors, one green
Green door, Lock Lane (ground floor)
Step-free.
Back & neck Pregnancy & postnatal Babies & children Older adults & balance Second opinion
Green door, then one flight of stairs (rooms 2 and 3)
One flight of stairs; ask for the ground floor if you need it.
Desk & posture Headaches & jaw Sports massage
- Mon–Fri
- 07:30–19:30
- Sat
- 08:00–13:00