Chiropractor vs Physiotherapist: Who Will Benefit Me More?
If a person is experiencing or suffering any form of chronic pain in areas like the back, shoulder, neck, or knees– chances are that they must seek professional help and treatment to improve their physical health and prevent further damage.
Such treatment or therapy targets issues related to the spinal cord, nerves, and muscles.
That said, there are many different types of therapy options with different approaches that promise results, and it can be quite confusing and difficult to decide what type of professional help one should seek.
This article provides information on the two most popular therapies and compares the similarities and dissimilarities of the two and overall, provides a clearer understanding that will help a person choose between the two.
The two types of therapy are:
Chiropractic Care
Physiotherapy
Chiropractor vs Physiotherapist: Methods, benefits, Similarities, and dissimilarities
Chiropractic Care: What Does a Chiropractor Do?
It is aimed at treating and improving the musculoskeletal system that includes soft and hard bones, joints, muscles, and tendons – all the important structures that have functional and protective features.
These essential parts of the body can get damaged by injuries or deformities due to an illness.
Chiropractors like pregnancy Chiropractor redwood city are professionals that perform these procedures and make adjustments and realignments to the spine and joints, target muscles, and tendons.
Chiropractic Care is not a replacement or alternative for conventional medical treatment, but it can be greatly helpful, especially when done in conjunction with the latter.
Credit : Flickr
Method
Chiropractic care is based on the principle that the body inherently has the ability to heal itself.
They assess each patient’s body individually to check for any misalignments in the spine, joints, or muscles, and try to correct it with a non-invasive, hands-on approach.
The reason why the correction is important is because misaligned bones or muscles can apply pressure on nerves and directly harm the central nervous system, thus leading to chronic pain.
The most common types of pain that can be treated with chiropractic care include:
Sciatica pain
Lower back pain
Injuries due to vigorous and continuous movements
Sports injuries
car accident injuries
Arthritis and knee problems
In addition to that, most professionals also have further specializations in pediatrics, orthopedics, sports medicine and nutrition, this knowledge can come in handy during treatment.
Benefits
Highly personalized
They believe that every individual body is different and requires personalized or tailored treatments. This ensures the best way for the body to heal, improve, and provide pain relief.
Safe
The non-invasive nature of the therapy makes it very safe and lowers the risk of complications compared to correctional surgeries. It also avoids any additional side effects that come with other forms of treatment.
Effective and quick results
Therapy sessions have a quick and immediate impact on pain relief, muscle function, and coordination. This is because every session reduces the abnormal pressure applied to the nervous system.
Physiotherapy, Image Credit: Pixabay
Physiotherapy: What Does a Physiotherapist Do?
This kind of therapy encourages and triggers the body to rehabilitate strength and mobility. As a result, it has a broad range of benefits not only to the targeted fixing areas but also to the overall health of the person.
In order to restore the body’s natural and healthy condition techniques like joint manipulation, muscle stretching, and exercises are performed.
Method
After the diagnosis of an abnormality, the professional will identify health risks and work in the direction of restoring strength, and range of motion. Physiotherapists can also identify health risks in their patients and work with them to improve overall fitness and wellbeing.
Physiotherapists put together a personalized plan for each patient based on their underlying condition. Most importantly, they will also focus on the long-term benefits of the patient and help prevent future injuries.
The most common types of issues that can be treated by physiotherapist include:
Lack of mobility
Muscle injuries
Surgery recovery
Disease recovery such as from disorders like multiple sclerosis
Benefits
They include:
Good trigger for recovery
Recovery is important for the body but the state of form in which your body recovers is equally important in order to prevent permanent damage. A physiotherapist will ensure that the body has recovered properly back into its normal state.
Injury and surgery prevention
In addition to helping the body recover, the therapy also makes your body stronger and as a result, it also increases the body’s ability to prevent further injury. It also reduces the need for additional surgery and medication.
Chronic pain, Image Credit: Pixabay
Conclusion
The differences and similarities between the two types of therapy are as follows:
Similarities
Now it is important to understand that both forms of physical therapy may have different methods of approaching the problem but they could have the same or similar end result or goal.
Both chiropractic and physiotherapy are complementary treatments, meaning they are performed alongside other treatments and are non-invasive as it does not require any additional surgical or medical intervention.
Some similarities include:
Targeting problems related to chronic pain, stiffness, and difficulty in moving.
Requires a hands-on or physical approach to the problem.
Evaluates the symptoms not only based on the immediate injury but also reviews the family medical history and genetic or lifestyle testing.
Both types of therapists have to be professionally trained and hold a medical license.
DissimilaritiesChiropractic CarePhysiotherapyIt focuses on healing, reducing, or relieving pain.It focuses on healing as well as strengthening the body against future injuries.It targets a specific area or problem.This form of therapy is targeted but is also aimed at improving overall health.Manipulates the body to trigger self-healing.Triggers healing but most importantly improves mobility and helps improve your stretch and exercise form.It may require equipment to perform manipulations and adjustments.It does not require any equipment and can be performed anywhere.