Philip Bayliss, St Albans Osteopathy, Christchurch

PHILIP BAYLISS, Registered Osteopath
St Albans Osteopathy, 43 Thames Street, St Albans, Christchurch. Phone: 03 356 1353

Philip trained at the British School of Osteopathy, the oldest and largest training establishment for osteopaths in Europe, graduating in 1986. The four year full-time course included the study of anatomy, physiology, pathology, embryology, neurology, paediatrics, orthopaedics, rheumatology and psychology to a similar standard as medical schools plus the principals, theory, techniques and clinical practice of osteopathy. Before graduating as an osteopath, Philip did over 1000 hours of supervised consultations with real patients in the BSO Clinic. While he was a student osteopath, Philip had a special interest in, and did extra clinics in: sports injuries, orthopaedics, pregnancy and the care of babies and children.

Philip has undertaken postgraduate studies at leading osteopath colleges in advanced manipulative techniques, therapeutic massage, injury rehabilitation, functional technique, neuromuscular technique, fascial release technique, harmonic technique, muscle energy technique, clinical kinesiology, activator methods, visceral osteopathy and cranial osteopathy (the Sutherland Cranial Teaching Foundation course at the BSO). He participates in at least 25 hours of osteopath professional development courses every year and holds a current first aid certificate. He is registered with the Osteopathic Council of New Zealand (OCNZ), and is a member of the Osteopathic Society of New Zealand (OSNZ) and the leader of the Canterbury peer group of the OSNZ, organising regular courses and meetings in Christchurch for Canterbury osteopaths. Philip has had an interest in naturopathy and holistic medicine since 1975 and often gives nutritional and lifestyle advice to his patients. He became a certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher in 1984. He keeps up to date in all aspects of natural medicine by regularly attending conferences, seminars and workshops.

From 1986 to 1997 Philip was the principal osteopath at Agincourt Osteopathy in the historic market town of Monmouth, Wales, where he was known as "Bayliss the Bones". He emigrated from the UK to New Zealand in 1997, and became a New Zealand citizen in 2001. Philip established Wanganui East Osteopathy in Wanganui in 1997 and St Albans Osteopathy in Christchurch in 2004. Philip enjoys both the cultural activities available in Christchurch and the beautiful countryside around Christchurch. He is a regular tramper, skier, cyclist and swimmer. You will always receive your treatment from Philip himself, and never from a locum osteopath, associate osteopath or junior osteopath. Philip only works at St Albans Osteopathy and is available to personally answer any questions you have. He has some of the lowest fees in Christchurch, with no larger fee for the first consultation.

Osteopath treatment

Osteopaths are highly skilled in diagnosing and treating the underlying causes of pain in the body. At your first consultation Philip will take your history and examine you. He takes the whole person into account, and you will receive a full assessment, including a biomechanical analysis and any osteopathic, orthopaedic and neurological tests needed. Most back pain, neck pain, limb pain and headaches are due to sprains and dysfunction of joints and muscles. Philip seeks these out by using both observation and a highly developed sense of touch, which enables him to detect the smallest changes in muscular tension and joint mobility. He may refer you directly for an x-ray or an ultrasound scan if this is needed. The results of these investigations will be discussed with you. The underlying causes of your pain are treated, not just "the painful spot". You will receive a full osteopath treatment at your first consultation unless you have a problem that can't be helped by osteopath treatment, in which case you will be referred to a suitable practitioner. Every osteopath treatment is different and is designed specifically for the needs of the patient at that time.

Philip uses a wide range of techniques, including gentle manipulation, cranial osteopathy (cranio-sacral therapy), and soft tissue techniques such as massage, fascial release and muscle-energy, in order to optimise the functioning of the body and enable the innate self-healing ability of the body to do its work. All the osteopath techniques that Philip uses are gentle and are never painful or frightening. Philip may give advice on exercises, posture, diet and home remedies to help you manage pain, speed recovery and to avoid future problems. This caring and holistic approach to treatment can help you and your family achieve the highest possible level of health and well-being at any time of life.

You are welcome to bring your own support person or translator. Sometimes a patient may be asked if they would mind removing an item of clothing to allow visual examination and hands on treatment. Underwear is never removed, and if you would rather not remove any item, please mention it. This is never a problem, and it is always still possible to receive effective osteopath treatment. Shoes are not worn on the treatment table and head pillows are never used for the lower body. If you have any specific needs because of your culture or beliefs, please mention them.

The number of osteopath treatments someone needs depends on the severity of the injury, the age of the person, whether they have arthritis etc. Most people have between one and six osteopath treatments. Philip will not sign you up to a long course of treatments, ask for payment in advance, try to convince you to have more treatments than you actually need, or scare you with the dire effects of not having osteopath treatment. You can discontinue treatment at any time. People sometimes (but not always) feel a bit worse the day after treatment. Usually this is very mild. Very occasionally it lasts two days. This is due to treatment of inflamed tissues, which is sometimes necessary to obtain normal function and speed up the healing process. Most people feel an improvement from their first osteopath consultation, though sometimes it may take longer.

ACC

You don’t need to have a GP referral to see an osteopath on ACC. An osteopath can help you can make a new ACC claim if you have an injury that is the result of an accident which happened within the last year. ACC contributes to the cost of osteopath treatment of everyone, of any age, both working and not working, for all injuries that result from an accident that occurred at work, at home, playing sports or driving. The accident must involve an external force or resistance. This can include road traffic accidents, sports injuries, carrying something, lifting, pushing or pulling something, or falling and hitting something or something hitting you. ACC does not cover bending or twisting if no external force or resistance is involved, even if the injury occurred at work. If ACC accepts your claim, they will normally part-pay for a maximum of 16 osteopath treatments for injuries recorded as resulting from the accident. ACC does not fully fund osteopath treatment, so a top-up payment is payable by the patient. You must start your osteopath treatment within one year of the accident date, and complete your osteopath treatments within 52 weeks of your first osteopath treatment. If ACC declines your claim, or declines to pay for treatment on an existing claim, you will then be liable to pay the difference between the ACC top-up payment and the private fee of any osteopath treatments that you have had. If you are making a new ACC claim, you may wish to wait until you have heard from ACC before you have further osteopath treatment.

If your injury is work related, please let your osteopath know whether your employer is an 'accredited employer' in the ACC Partnership Programme (these are all large companies). This means that they take responsibility for their employees' work injury claims. If you don't know, please ask your employer. If they are, you will need to provide your osteopath with contact details for both treatment approvals and invoicing. Accredited employers (or their insurance companies) usually allow fewer osteopath treatments than ACC does, for similar injuries. It is an OSH requirement that if you have an injury at work, that you should complete an incident report at your work place.