One of the most popular and respected complementary therapies, osteopathy is used not only to treat back, neck and joint pain, but also for a wide range of ailments, including asthma, period pain, migraine and digestive disorders.

The theory is that the body can only function efficiently if there’s an adequate nerve and blood supply to every organ - and manipulating the spinal joints can stimulate this supply.

Depending on which condition they’re treating and the general health of the patient, osteopaths use gentle touches which are more like stroking or deeper massage and joint manipulation. Their aim is to relieve nerve pressure, which can cause pain all over the body. They also put a lot of store on the patient’s lifestyle and mental and emotional health.

American army doctor Andrew Taylor Still started osteopathy in 1874. After the deaths of his wife and three of his children from meningitis, he decided to look for a way to stimulate the body’s powers to heal itself.

Although the orthodox medical establishment was sceptical, to put it mildly, they soon changed their minds during a major flu epidemic in 1919, when osteopathic hospitals had far fewer deaths than their conventional counterparts.

Osteopathy is now practiced throughout Europe, North America, Japan, Australia and Asia, and many British GPs now refer patients to practitioners rather than keeping them on pain-killers long term.

A statutory government register now regulates the profession. Anybody not on the register can no longer call himself or herself an osteopath.