Difference Between Physiotherapist and Chiropractor

Many of us may not be as fit as we were before the pandemic, and as community sports increase and gyms reopen across the country, some people may have fewer restrictions on coronavirus and are at increased risk of injury. If you pulled your hamstrings in your first game, or if your remote work life has left you with headaches and neck pain, you might consider visiting a healthcare practitioner to work on your complaint. So who do you choose to help to relieve your pain, and what are the differences between physiotherapist and chiropractor?

Similar Definitions on Paper

Physiotherapists will assess your problem, offer you a diagnosis, and help you figure out what’s wrong, taking into account your overall health, lifestyle, and activities. They handle your complaint with a wide range of “active” therapies, including hydrotherapy and exercise programs. Also, they use “passive” therapies like joint manipulation, mobilization, and massage.

There are different sub-disciplines in physiotherapy. For instance, some specialize in treating problems resulting from neurological disorders such as stroke or multiple sclerosis. Also, some focus on helping patients with lung and heart conditions, such as emphysema, or those who have had lung infections such as pneumonia.

A chiropractor is concerned with diagnosing, treating, and preventing mechanical disorders of the joints, bones, tendons, ligaments, and muscles, and their effects on the central nervous system. They will focus on passive manual treatments, such as soft-tissue and joint manipulation as well as spinal adjustments. Also, they can prescribe exercises to help you adjust to your condition and give you nutritional advice.

What is the Scientific Evidence?

Knowing if your healthcare provider is applying evidence-based practice to their treatment plan can help you choose the right therapist for you. Evidence-based practice is about how each healthcare professional combines their clinical knowledge with the best research available, along with their individual circumstances and values to assess and treat your complaints. Whether this is implemented or not in daily practice depends on the respective therapist and may not be uniform across professions.

Science supports the use of treatments where you, the patient, are actively involved in managing your condition, including education and an exercise program we refer to as “prescription exercise”. The breadth of scientific evidence supporting the prescription of exercise to treat joint, bone, tendon, ligament, and muscle pain goes well beyond the limited scientific support for long-term use of “passive” treatments such as adjustments, massage, and manipulation.

Research has shown that these passive treatments are more effective when used in combination with active treatments. This type of treatment may be suitable in the early stages of your care. Luckily, at Performance Chiropractic + Physiotherapy, we combine both therapies for the best results.