Physiotherapy and Chiropractor

The first thing to focus on when deciding on pain relief is the type of healthcare professional you are about to see. To do this, it’s important to understand the difference between physiotherapy and chiropractor.

What is Physiotherapy?

Physiotherapy helps restore movement and function in people in the event of injury, disability, or illness. It is accessible for all ages, from the youngest to the oldest. Physiotherapy helps people with manual therapy, exercise, movement, education, and counseling to maintain or improve their health, relieve pain, and prevent injury and illness. Physiotherapy promotes and facilitates the restoration of normal function so that people can stay at work and be independent for as long as possible.

Because the human body is complex and intertwined, physical therapy looks at the “whole person” with a focus on health and wellness, as well as lifestyle in general. Physiotherapy is quite broad and has its unique specialties. Here are the major areas of physiotherapy:

• Respiratory tract (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, cystic fibrosis, and more)
• Neurological (Parkinson’s multiple sclerosis, stroke, and more)
• Cardiovascular (cardiac rehabilitation, chronic heart disease, and more)
• Neuro-musculoskeletal (neck pain, back pain, sciatica, plantar fasciitis, whiplash, arthritis, sports injuries, and more)

What is Chiropractic Care?

Chiropractic care uses a variety of techniques to reduce pain, improve function, and improve mobility. The primary treatments for chiropractors include practical manipulation of the spine, among other types of manual treatment. Chiropractors around the world offer advice on therapeutic exercise, self-help, and lifestyle.

Chiropractic treatment involves safe and specific manipulation of the spine to free the spinal joints or other parts of the body so they can move properly. Besides the manipulation that chiropractors are known for, other treatments employed include heat, ice, exercise, ultrasound, and acupuncture that provide postural and lifestyle advice.

So What’s the Difference Between Physiotherapy and Chiropractor?

Both physiotherapy and chiropractic care are basically very similar, but if you look a little deeper, they are a bit different. For instance, physiotherapists can perform manipulations, mobilization, and massages, and many more just like chiropractors, but the subtle difference is that the weighted meaning is different. Physiotherapy considers counseling, self-management, and exercise to be the cornerstones of patient care, and manual techniques facilitate this process. There is evidence that people who have had a scan or x-ray have little benefit in the first few days. Due to meticulous research and guidelines, scans are therefore not requested at all.

Chiropractors, on the other hand, view manual therapy, especially manipulation, as the cornerstone of patient care, and although they offer counseling, self-management, and exercise, they would complement manual therapy. When it comes to x-rays or scans, they seem to be used more often in chiropractic than in physiotherapy, but these are generalizations and all doctors will be different. Right now, there is probably a physiotherapist out there who only focuses on manual therapy and doesn’t think twice about counseling, self-management, and exercise. At the same time, there may be a chiropractor who is very focused on exercise, counseling, and self -management, with little focus on manual manipulation or therapy.

Choosing a physiotherapist or chiropractor is an individual decision, and what works for one patient might not work for another. Past experiences and expectations make a big difference in the results of treatment. Above all, we can infer that the differences between physiotherapy and chiropractor are small and it is the cornerstone focus that is different.