Chiropractic therapy is based on the idea that proper alignment of your musculoskeletal structure allows your body to heal naturally. Chiropractic care involves a hands-on technique for spinal manipulation, with correct alignment being the ultimate, and often immediate, goal. Physiotherapy focuses on your movement and aims to prevent or treat injury. It deals with helping you maintain mobility rather than just focusing on your spine. Chiropractic care also helps with mobility but in a more curative manner than physiotherapy. Chiropraxis utilizes alternative treatments as well as spinal manipulation. Physiotherapy is also a holistic treatment, but instead of specializing in spinal treatment, physiotherapy takes a broader approach to healing.
1) Chiropractic Is Better Than Physiotherapy for Focused, Personal Care
Chiropractic treatments are well known for the personal level of treatment. Whereas with physiotherapy, you are most likely to be hooked to machines that monitor you, a chiropractic treatment plan is one on one with your chiropractor by your side at all times. While physiotherapy also deals with spinal manipulation, it is not as focused as chiropractic methods. In the chiropractic field, spinal manipulation is a dedicated and well-studied technique.
2) Chiropractic vs. Physiotherapy: Chiropractic Is More Affordable
Chiropractic sessions tend to cost less than those of physiotherapy. Physiotherapy charges for hands-on work as well as for machine tests. Aside from the initial chiropractic visit, during which x-rays are taken, a chiropractic method of treatment will cost less per session than physiotherapy in most cases.
3) Chiropractic Treatment Is Better for Neck Pain
New studies published in “The Annals of Internal Medicine” show that chiropractic care is better than ibuprofen, aspirin, and narcotic medications for treating neck pain. This type of injury is one of the most likely types of pain to prompt a person to seek treatment. Three of the most common forms of treatment for neck pain are chiropractic spinal manipulation, physical therapy, and pain medication. Of these three treatments, Dr. Gert Bronford studied chiropractic care versus pain medication. With chiropractic treatment, patients experienced 75% pain reduction. Patients using prescribed medications only showed 38% pain reduction. Even a year after the chiropraxis studies were conducted, the beneficial effects of chiropractic spinal adjustment over the effects of physiotherapy could still be observed.
4) Is Chiropractic Better Than Physiotherapy for Immediate Relief?
When it comes to immediate relief from pain, the chiropractic method of spinal manipulation is more effective than physiotherapy. The latter treats many areas of the body, so it can take several visits for a patient to feel relief. Many times, chiropractic treatment achieves results in the short term and sometimes after only a single session. Since many pains, including those of the back, neck, stomach, and head, result from excessive stress, chiropractic spinal adjustment often helps alleviate those pains as well. The spinal adjustment method is also a type of massage. The purpose of massage in chiropraxis is to relax your muscles and spine. Physiotherapists treat soft tissue rather than bone.
5) Chiropractic Techniques Are Specialized for Back Trauma
Chiropractic sessions can relieve patients of many ailments, but chiropractic treatment is honed for treating back trouble. Worldwide, one of the leading causes of disability is lower back pain, and thirty-one million Americans experience this type of pain. When asked, 50% of the workforce in America admitted to having lower back pain. The three leading causes of back pain are arthritis, bone degradation, and sports injury. Chiropractic spinal manipulation offers relief of back pain safely, effectively, and without medications.
Physiotherapy treats symptoms over a longer period than chiropractic treatment does. Physiotherapists employ various holistic techniques in treating the whole body, which takes time. Chiropractic adjustments to the spine trigger the quick release of tense muscles, alleviating much of a patient’s discomfort. An article in the “Journal of the American Medical Association” suggests that chiropractic spinal manipulation is a good option if you suffer from lower back pain. The article adds that surgery should only be considered as a last resort. The article’s author claims surgery usually isn’t needed.
6) Chiropractic Sessions May Relieve Many Ailments
In addition to relieving neck, back, and headache pain, chiropractic treatment has also been linked to the relief of various other illnesses and symptoms that aren’t closely related to your musculoskeletal system. These maladies include indigestion, pregnancy issues, fainting, dizziness, asthma, and pneumonia. No similar claims have been made about physiotherapy. Chiropractic solutions may be suitable for acute pain associated with your neck and back, acute lower back pain, and pain caused by wrenching or jerking your back or neck.
If you suffer from spinal-cord compression, osteoporosis, or inflammatory arthritis or you are taking blood-thinning medications, you should not volunteer for chiropractic spinal manipulation. If you have cancer, you should consult your doctor for clearance.
If you want to learn about the other side of the argument, read our article on why physiotherapy is better than chiropractic care.
This article seems all wrong. I’ve been attending physical therapy for 1.5 years now (for chronic issues) and while I did have a poor experience with PT many years ago, my current one is the opposite of everything this article says.
Physical therapy has improved my alignment by first relaxing over tightly muscles, then learning better form/posture, then strengthening weak muscles. My spine doesn’t need to be readjusted constantly, because my core, pelvic floor, legs, shoulders and back are supporting my spine and other muscles as they should be.
If you have a poor PT experience I urge you to go somewhere else and try again. A PT specializing in pelvic floor has given me only 1-1 attention the entire time, massage, tissue manipulation, weight training, etc. it’s been the beat experience of my life.
Well sadly i am not sure this is worthy of comment but i would like to share as a PT of almost 30 years, 23 as a private practice owner i feel very fortunate to have bridged the gap between PT and chiro. I feel very fortunate to collaborate very closely with some excellent chiros in my area and I believe they feel the same way about me and my staff of therapists. I believe we each bring a necessary component to the overall well being of the patient we mutually share with the common goal of providing the best possible outcome for our patients by combining the talents of both disciplines. I am so exhausted by this concept of who is better. Together we are better than apart.
One thing is very clear! I don’t need to put you in your place – every comment before me already has! Do you still write posts for these guys or have they noticed how uninformed you are?
Does chiropractor adjustments help statica neverv pain
I would just like to clarify something. PTs do not use “various holistic techniques”. PT is based on Evidenced Based Practice (EDP). Our interventions are based on RCTs and supporting evidence. We do not use terms like “body energy” or “toxins”. We pride ourselves on fact and evidence. Yes PT typically can take longer because we push for long term results.
EBP
The study of the Physiotherapy science takes many more years than Ciro at a well established academic institution. Over all these years a physiotherapist studies the movement of the body and how to restore it when it is compromised. Physiotherapists know better than any other professional how to mobilize and do manipulations safely, look for the cause of the ailment, diagnose and treat from the root. If a technique, exercise or manipulation is needed to restore the normal function; then that is the right tool for that particular patient. It is not more expensive than ciro and the rehabilitation for the most part is short. This article is very misleading and is only speaking very badly about the person that wrote it without having the knowledge.
The study of the Physiotherapy science takes many more years than Ciro at a well established academic institution. Over all these years a physiotherapist studies the movement of the body and how to restore it when it is compromised. Physiotherapists know better than any other professional how to mobilize and do manipulations safely, look for the cause of the ailment, diagnose and treat from the root. If a technique, exercise or manipulation is needed to restore the normal function; then that is the right tool for that particular patient. It is not more expensive than ciro and the rehabilitation for the most part is short. This article is very misleading and is only speaking very badly about the person that wrote it without having the knowledge.
I would suggest speaking with a chiropractor or reading traditional chiropractic text before positioning yourself as an expert on the topic. You have done a fair job differentiating between the actions of chiropractors and physiotherapists but lack in understanding of the principles differentiating the fields of study.
Andrew Stark, it looks like you need to write about other topics other than rehabilitation, because it sounds like you don’t know what you’re talking about. As a physical therapist, I practice using evidence based techniques; I don’t do ‘machine tests’ (whatever that means)…I don’t use ultrasound and rarely use electrical stimulation unless I incorporate it with dry needling. I haven’t had a patient ‘stretch’ a muscle in a couple years, as I treat using a movement model, and not just focus on the area of the pain, but the patient’s movement as a whole a.k.a regional interdependence. I can get a patient feeling better in 30-45 minutes without a whole bunch of exercises, more like a few corrective exercises. I have gotten patients better that did not get relief from multiple visits to the chiropractor or massage therapist. I have heard stories from patient’s about the different machines and contraptions they had done at the chiropractor, including being whipped…they also try to sell some pretty odd stuff to their patients. Ummm, yes we can and do specialize in spinal treatment; we can do spinal manipulation, and yes physiotherapists were doing this before chiros. However, in physical therapy, we do manipulations that are evidence based (or as you call it, dedicated and well-studied!) to treat musculoskeletal pain; not based on the vertebral subluxation that chiros use…the evidence for that is lacking. We do not claim to treat other non-musculoskeletal diseases through spinal manipulation such as asthma, indigestion, and pneumonia. Come on…really? And all infant babies do not need to be adjusted. PT is not more expensive or take more time. I can get someone better in a few visits and not need to have them keep coming back…forever. Not sure where you are getting your facts from buddy, but this article is a joke!
I am a chiropractic doctorate student so I thought you might find it entertaining to know that the same author wrote an article about how physiotherapy is better than chiropractic (https://guidedoc.com/4-reasons-why-physiotherapy-is-better-than-chiropractic). Mr. Stark is clearly misleading readers about both professions. Non evidence based opinions aren’t worth your time and aggravation! Best.
This is a pretty short sighted and narrow minded view of what Physio’s do. As a Physio myself, I do manipulations (which were performed by Physio’s before Chiropractic profession was even around), dry needling, and VERY little exercises. I also only see patients about 4, at most 6, visits and I don’t need them to come back 2 a month for the rest of their lives to be “adjusted”.
Interesting Scott so Physiotherapist were around way before the Chiros? September 18 1985 is the date claimed by doctors of chiropractic…. PT has a birthday of March 192I…. Times your? As for Dry Needing I think the acupuncturist have been in Business for thousands of years