Chiropractic, Physiotherapy, Osteopathy, and Massage Therapy

What are the Differences Between Chiropractic, Osteopathy, Physiotherapy, and Massage Therapy?

 

How many times have we asked ourselves the difference between these health disciplines?

 

Chiropractic:

Chiropractic is a vitalistic medicine. This university degree consists of between 5500 and 6000 hours of study divided over 8 years, and it has a worldwide doctoral degree. Recently in Spain, it has been recognized as a bachelor’s degree. There are two schools in Spain; one located in Madrid and another in Barcelona. The AEQ is the Spanish Association that includes all university graduates practicing in our country.

The goal of Chiropractic is the care of the nervous system, primarily through the alignment of the spine by applying specific adjustments.

The Doctor of Chiropractic, by working with the nervous system, can treat health problems including neurological issues such as headaches, dizziness/vertigo, numbness in arms/hands, numbness in legs/feet, sciatica, tingling in the body, cramps, scoliosis, herniated discs, etc.

It is important to remember that in Chiropractic, symptoms are not as important as treating the origin that causes the disease and restoring the body’s overall balance so that it functions better and recovers or maintains health. This is why chiropractic is so effective; it addresses different problems and achieves solutions.

Osteopathy:

It is the closest to Chiropractic since both use their hands to apply force to the human body. Manipulation is the tool of the osteopath, while specific adjustments are the tool of the chiropractor.

To study Osteopathy, one must first study the degree in Physiotherapy and then a specialization in osteopathy, which, when added to the 3 years of Physiotherapy studies, can last 4 years. This is at least the case for becoming a true Osteopath.

The problem with Osteopaths is the existence of many “osteopathy courses.” Nowadays, there is a lack of legislation that allows for osteopathy courses to be taken without prior training in Physiotherapy and to open their own business.

There is an important factor that lies in the training of joint and spinal manipulation. Manipulating joints without having the necessary knowledge is dangerous, as it can significantly worsen the situation. Considering that the spine is a very delicate area, important as it contains the nervous system, it can be much more dangerous for the patient’s health.

Therefore, if you also want to be treated by a professional in Osteopathy, ensure they have the degree and qualifications.

Chiropractic, Physiotherapy, Osteopathy, and Massage Therapy

The difference between Chiropractic and Osteopathy is the way the spine is manipulated and their objectives:

• Osteopathy focuses on relaxation, improving the circulatory system, and addressing any muscular problems; hence they are also Physiotherapists. Remember that Osteopaths are not chiropractors if they do not have that training.

 

• Chiropractic focuses on freeing the nervous system from what we call subluxations or vertebral misalignments so that it can function and recover and/or prevent health and balance throughout the body.
• As I mentioned earlier, chiropractic does not treat symptoms but will address the origin of what causes those symptoms. An example would be if a patient goes to an osteopath with pain in the lower back, the osteopath may only manipulate the lumbar area, where the pain is primarily located.
• However, since the chiropractor does not focus on where the symptoms are, the chiropractor will examine the entire body and make specific adjustments to all the vertebrae that need it, regardless of whether there are symptoms in that area. Chiropractic also treats animals.

In other words, at first glance, Osteopathy and Chiropractic may seem the same; however, this is not the case because the objectives are different.

The former is a therapy as it aims to alleviate only the symptom, while the latter is a medicine since its goal is to solve the origin of what produces pain and ensure that the body has and/or regains optimal health. For this reason, Chiropractic is for all ages.

 

Physiotherapy:

To become a physiotherapist, one needs to study for 3 years. It has a university degree as a diploma. Physiotherapy is a health discipline indicated as therapy oriented towards the symptom. It addresses symptoms of multiple ailments, both acute and chronic, through therapeutic exercise, heat, cold, light, water, and manual techniques. After obtaining the physiotherapy degree, many pursue a master’s degree to specialize in sports or rehabilitation, among other possibilities.

Its goal is the treatment of muscles and ligaments, as in the rehabilitation process. To achieve improvement, various techniques are employed, including electricity.

 

Massage Therapy:

Although both Chiropractic and Massage Therapy share the word “chiro,” which means “hands,” they have very different orientations and objectives.

The Massage Therapist studies between 150-300 hours in less than a year. There is no university degree as a massage therapist.

Their goal is to provide massages and relax the muscles. Nothing more, and who doesn’t enjoy a good massage!!!

 

In conclusion:

Choose your objective according to the profession you want to pursue.

If you wish to be treated by any of these disciplines, it is important to ask about the professional’s university training with whom you will be treated because in Spain, the lack of legal regulation allows for intrusiveness.

For this reason, individuals with little or no training can attribute to themselves the name of what they have not studied. This can lead to poor health outcomes for the patient and, as a result of this fact, genuine professionals may suffer from a bad reputation that does not belong to them.

An example is that Osteopaths or Physiotherapists are not Doctors of Chiropractic but rather physiotherapists with a year of specialization in manipulation; therefore, they cannot be called Chiropractors.