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An osteopath is an accredited physician who uses a variety of holistic techniques to relieve pain and tension in the musculoskeletal system. Their work generally involves stretching, manipulating and massaging a person's muscles and joints which can treat bad backs, joint stiffness, injury recovery, headaches and much more. Osteopaths are licensed healthcare professionals and use a range of techniques, but do not prescribe medicine or perform surgery. They keep detailed clinical records of their clients and usually work in private practices or within the NHS, in a self-employed capacity.
What does an osteopath do?
You’ll be using your specialised knowledge of the musculoskeletal system to provide a full range of services like diagnostics, preventative treatments, physical therapies such as massage and joint manipulation, as well as offering health advice and designing exercise schedules for your clients.
Most commonly, you’ll meet your clients through NHS referrals, and will see them on a long-term basis to treat recurring or chronic conditions. You’ll assess client’s symptoms and lifestyle alongside the information on their medical records to build a complete view of their musculoskeletal health.
After this, you’ll prescribe a course of regular sessions in which the aim will be to relieve symptoms of pain, stiffness, or discomfort, and assess the progress of any lifestyle changes which have been recommended between sessions.
Some of the tasks which osteopaths conduct on a weekly basis include:
- Performing detailed consultations
- Carrying out physical examinations
- Designing holistic treatment plans
- Providing soft tissue treatments, gentle release techniques and cranial osteopathy
- Referring clients to specialised healthcare professionals
- Taking clinical records and organising digital databases
- Making dietary and lifestyle recommendations
What’s it like to work as an osteopath?
So what does a day in the life of an osteopath look like? Where will you practice, how will you find clients, and what can you expect from the work itself? All great questions, so let’s examine it further.
In the UK, there are over 5,000 licensed osteopaths and most of them are self-employed. Once you’ve qualified and started to practice, there are many different workplaces which you can choose from. It’s likely that at some point you’ll work as an associate in an osteopathic practice, but you may prefer to work in an NHS clinic, a health centre, private sports or leisure facility, or in a high street pharmacy.
As your work will typically be office or clinic based, you usually won’t be expected to travel large distances to see clients. However, it’s not uncommon for new osteopaths to start working on a part-time basis at more than one clinic simultaneously, meaning you might need to move between locations.
You’ll develop strong empathetic and interpersonal skills. Osteopathy is a care-oriented profession, and work is performed on a one-to-one basis, which means that you’ll spend a lot of time listening to your clients, assessing their needs and guiding or encouraging them through what may be a physically, mentally or emotionally tough time in their life.
This can be demanding for the osteopath, but at the same time immensely rewarding. Helping others is one of the most worthwhile things to do with your time, and when it comes to osteopathic treatments, the results are often immediately felt.
What skills do you need to be an osteopath?
Osteopaths occupy a specialist area within healthcare and have a broad array of skills. Some of these include:
- Empathy and communication abilities
- Body co-ordination and manual dexterity
- Problem solving and diagnostic skills
- Data organisation skills
- Time-management skills
- Administrative abilities
How much does an osteopath earn?
Many osteopaths are self-employed, and in this case your income will largely depend on your hourly rate which you will decide. Osteopaths in the UK typically charge an initial consultation fee of £40 to £60, and then subsequent sessions are billed between £35 to £50 for a session lasting around 30 minutes.
NHS osteopaths can expect to earn between £30,000 and £55,000 for a regular work week of 35 to 40 hours, and this is generally a similar situation in private clinics. Remember that your annual income will also depend on the number of clients you are working with, the frequency you see them and your running costs, which may include things like room rental, travel costs and equipment maintenance.
Additionally, you’ll find that the location which you work in can impact your earning potential. For example, jobs in larger cities generally pay higher salaries and you’ll have access to a much wider market of clients.
How to become an osteopath
While there is no specific pathway to qualifying as an osteopath, you will need to have a medically related degree of some type. Osteopathy degrees are not required but are definitely advantageous. Likewise, it is not necessary to have studied at postgraduate level, although this will also give you a competitive advantage and a deeper understanding of your field.
In the UK, most osteopathy courses are at undergraduate level, and can include subjects such as:
- Osteopathy
- Physiology
- Anatomy
- Pharmacology
- Biomechanics
- Sports Science
Once you have an undergraduate degree under your belt, you will need to complete some professional courses to get up to speed with the practices and procedures of clinical osteopathy. Courses will need to be approved by one of several official regulatory bodies in the UK. These include The General Osteopathic Council, the Institute of Osteopathy and the University College of Osteopathy.
Your license will need to be renewed each year, and this requires 30 hours of continuing professional development training annually.
There is no specific career path in the profession, but recently qualified osteopaths generally begin by working as an associate in an osteopathic practice and then develop a specialism within a particular client base.
