If you are unsure whether or not chiropractors and Physiotherapist are the same, then this article is for you. Although they both specialize in diagnosing and treating their patients there are some differences between chiropractors and Physiotherapist.
The two professions have different histories, with one being more traditional than the other but they seem to be on converging paths as both cover similar treatment options for patients nowadays such as rehabilitation after injury or surgery.
What is a Chiropractor?
Chiropractors are chiropractic physicians who diagnose and treat disorders of the musculoskeletal system, especially the spine. Their primary consideration is to correct misalignments of the spine called chiropractic subluxations; chiropractors generally believe that this results in vitalistic benefits to the body’s overall health.
Chiropractors provide drug-free, hands-on health care, including patient examination, diagnosis, and treatment. Chiropractors have a wide range of diagnostic abilities and are also trained to recommend therapeutic and rehabilitative exercises, as well as nutritional, dietary, and lifestyle counseling.
What is a Physiotherapist?
Physiotherapists are rehabilitation professionals who are qualified to assess, diagnose, plan, implement, evaluate, and teach patients how to manage their health using physical means. Physiotherapists provide therapeutic services to their patients by utilizing techniques encompassing manual manipulation of joints and soft tissue, electrotherapy modalities, functional training for performing activities of daily living, active stretching or resistive exercises for general conditioning or strengthening of specific muscle groups.
Physiotherapist have expanded their education to include similar educational programs as their chiropractic colleagues. They recently added an academic doctorate degree to their offerings. Historically, they have worked in hospitals and the military. In the last 30 years, private Physiotherapist practice, including home Physiotherapist practice, has grown dramatically. A physiotherapist can also find work in professional sports and at universities.
The primary goal of a Physiotherapist is to restore proper muscle mobility and function through various therapies such as exercise, whereas chiropractors focus specifically on improving joint mobilization. Many chiropractors today, however, are trained in sports medicine and use many of the same treatment options as Physiotherapists, such as heat, ice, and electrical stimulation, as well as manual therapy, such as joint manipulation and muscle normalization techniques such as active release therapy (ART) and myofascial release.
Many chiropractors will look at the immobility patterns of the sacrum, pelvis, and lumbar vertebrae to see if there are any areas that require function restoration that can be helped by an adjustment of some kind. Hand, gravity-assisted tables to allow a drop, adjusting instruments, soft tissue therapy, and a variety of other techniques can be used to accomplish this. They can also assess an individual’s progress through standing posture, leg length analysis, x-ray drawing, muscle testing, and other methods.
So, in conclusion, chiropractors have more extensive diagnostic education. Physiotherapists, on the other hand, have an intervention or therapeutic-based education. Is it possible for a chiropractor to recommend Physiotherapist? While chiropractors can provide services such as rehabilitative exercise and modality treatments, manipulation is still their primary mode of treatment. Nonetheless, chiropractors may choose to prescribe Physiotherapist in order to concentrate on spinal manipulations. Manual therapy-like techniques may be used by Physiotherapists on their patients. Therapeutic exercise modalities and activity modification, on the other hand, continue to be the foundation of Physiotherapist practice.