To find out more about each of the three, we asked Claire Small, chief clinical officer and consultant physiotherapist at Pure Sports Medicine, to explain a bit more.

Physiotherapy

We’ve all heard of physiotherapy in some form or another, but what does a physiotherapist do? “Physiotherapy is a medical service with a broad understanding of different conditions,” Small explains. “It looks at your musculoskeletal system, working to support it to perform in the best way so you’re able to do the activities you want to do pain-free.”

While physiotherapists may do some hands-on therapy – manipulating different parts of the body and helping to aid movement – a lot of the treatment tends to be movement and exercise-led, Small adds.

Osteopathy

The reason why many of us often get physiotherapy and osteopathy mixed up is that they share a lot of similarities, especially in their areas of focus.

“Osteopathy is a medical service that also looks at your musculoskeletal system, and has a lot of crossover with physiotherapy,” Small explains. “However, you can expect more manual and hands-on therapy within the treatments of osteopathy.”

The difference between physiotherapy, osteopathy and sports massage – and how to tell which one is for you