Should I see a chiropractor or a physiotherapist?
What’s the difference?
Over the past 13 years I have been asked on countless occasions by patients who should I see for my back problem?
I am also frequently asked to explain the difference between a chiropractor and a physiotherapist. I can understand their confusion; in fact, I think this is confusing for a lot of chiropractors and physiotherapists as well.
Even more confusing is the fact that there are several different specialist categories within chiropractic and physiotherapy.
For instance some chiropractors specialize in children’s health, radiology, neurology, sports and nutrition. Physiotherapist can also specialize in cardiovascular rehabilitation and many more types of rehabilitation.
I have found though that the majority of chiropractors and physiotherapists practice is similar to a general practitioner in that they don’t have a single specialty and choose to treat a wide variety of conditions.
Both chiropractors and physiotherapists are also well educated practitioners.
To become a Chiropractor you must have a minimum of 5 years of University training in Australia.
Physiotherapist training also requires a minimum of a 4 year university degree and then there are opportunities for further study.
The information above outlines what it takes to become a qualified practitioner of chiropractic or physiotherapy.
Research is also important when making a decision of the practitioner to see.
Research is now showing that manual therapy (manipulation) is far more effective than seeing a GP or exercises.
My searches on Google revealed that chiropractic is more effective than physiotherapy and medicine. Rather than giving an exhaustive amount of research, please feel free to do a quick search on Google for chiropractic vs. physiotherapy and research and see for yourself.
I hope this short article has outlined some information to help you make a more informed decision.
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