Experiences with osteopathy?

[SilverFish]

i'm wondering if anyone on here has or is seeing an osteopath? what do you think aout it? my midwife was the one who suggested it to me, later backed up by several friends from my yoga studio. i'm not huge on alternative medicine... i definitely think that there are many many things not "known" by mainstream medicine, but i do tend to be sceptical of things like homeopathy and acupuncture.

anyway, i've been a couple times now. fortunately my visits are mostly covered by our insurance, so even though it's a bit expensive, it's not a huge money drain. i'm not sure if i'm seeing any big improvements... she has given me some relief from a sore hip and painful upper back, and i find her an incredibly relaxing and comforting person to talk to... i think half of the reason i go is for the "talk therapy" . but i am 35 weeks pregnant, so i really doubt that it's even possible to be totally pain free and comfortable at this stage, no matter how magical the treatments are.

however, i have a bit of a question about something she did at the last visit. she's french, so there's a slight language/accent barrier in that she'll use an unusual word to describe something or i won't catch the meaning of something she says right away. so she was adjusting my abdomen and asking me about how things felt, and then mentioned something about how she was going to check how my uterine ligaments and cervix were fitting against my sacrum... or something like that. i was pretty zoned out, so just nodded.

um, so apparently that meant an internal examination of my cervix!! suddenly she was putting on a glove and telling me to bend my knees up, and then she was in there! it's not that i feel violated or anything... i do find her trustworthy, and to be honest, i've had more awkward and painful internal examinations from gynecologists at my yearly physical. i find her utter relaxation about all the parts of my body to be quite refreshing. but she isn't my midwife, and isn't responsible for my pregnancy. i haven't even let my midwife do an internal yet, and really wasn't planning to until i go into labour.

i don't know whether i'm uncomfortable because i don't really see her as my "real" doctor, or whether i just wasn't expecting it and would have preferred to either have more explaination about what she was hoping to accomplish, or the opportunity to say i didn't want her to touch my cervix.

has anyone had this experience? i don't know if i should go back... what i really want is pain relief and relaxation, not a second doctor, so maybe i'd be better spending my money on massage therapy? but if she really is helping me, i don't want to stop going because i'm unfamiliar with osteopathic methods. opinions?

[gcgirl]

Well, I had a DO that may as well have been an MD - he was very quick on the Rx's, but he also did adjustments. I was disappointed in him; I was looking for someone a little MORE alternative, but that wasn't him.

The pelvic exam sounds like something I had when I went to a physical therapist who specialized in pelvic floor issues. I wouldn't be surprised by that exam. However, it would worry me a bit that the communication barrier is such that you didn't KNOW it was an internal exam until it was, well, upon you, so to speak. I personally would like a little more advance warning...maybe her bedside manner is just a little too transactional.

[umsami]

Here in the States, DOs are osteopathic physicians... meaning they're trained in manipulation, but also in regular allopathic medicine (same privileges as MDs). I know it's different in the U.K. and Australia, where they're limited to just manipulation, but I'm not sure about Canada. Here, they're trained in the various specialties, so you'll have DO OB/Gyns, Radiologists, Ophthalmologists, Family Practice Docs, etc.

Back when I was a massage therapist, there was "talk" about checking various things internally--but I seem to remember it being completely against our licensing laws. Also, pretty much nobody wanted to go there.

I'm the daughter, granddaughter, and niece of osteopaths--and I honestly can't remember any of them doing anything like that... not even the family practice ones who do a lot of manipulation. Let me do some checking around and see. If you really like her, and want to continue seeing her, then I would simply say that you are only comfortable with external manipulation.

[umsami]

O.K., as far as I can tell from this
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osteopa...cine_in_Canada

She would have had to train in the States and thus would be able to practice as a "full" physician, as well as do manipulation, in Quebec.

I don't know if that makes you more comfortable or not...lol...but anyways... I honestly think she should have been clearer about what she was going to do. Whenever I've had OMM, I've been pretty much fully dressed, though...so for anybody to do an internal...well, there would have to be a lot more communication.

I'm actually a little jealous. I would have loved to find an OB who did OMM...but pretty much 95% of DOs in the States only do manipulation when they're in school. They leave the manipulation to the chiropractors.

[SilverFish]

thanks for the responses. the language barrier is something that i keep coming across... simply being an anglo in a french town, it's pretty unavoidable.

i'm not sure about her exact qualifications either... i didn't even realize that some osteopaths practice as regular drs until i was looking up information about it today. she is very interested and involved in all things pregnancy... at first i just assumed it was just something she was interested in, but now i'm realizing she might have additional training in obstetrics that i'm not aware of... i don't think she studied in the states though.

anyway, i think i have to make a decision about whether to continue going or not. i definitely will say i prefer not to have another internal adjustment (i take my GBS test next week, i can probably use that as a good excuse not to have any extra hands in there) if i continue to go, but i feel like it's pointless to go if i can't fully embrace the scope of her therapy.

i briefly mentioned that i'd been going to my midwife and she seemed really enthusiatic about the usefulness of it, especially postpartum. i didn't mention the cervix thing though.

[IAMommy]

I see a DO for manipulation, and they have never gone there. I do love seeing them (I say them because students and the doctor work on me) because they can take away so much pain. I have an appointment next week and can ask about internal exams, but it seems like mine can tell a lot just from poking around in less personal places and making me bend and such. I doubt that what she is doing is entirely necessary, so if you aren't comfortable with it in the future, simply decline.