What are the differences between chiropractic, osteopathy, physical therapy, and therapeutic massage?
How many times have we wondered about the difference between these health disciplines?
Chiropractic:
Chiropractic is a vitalist form of medicine. This university program consists of between 5,500 and 6,000 hours of study spread over 8 years and leads to a degree in doctoral degree worldwide and it has recently been recognized as a bachelor's degree in Spain. There are two schools in Spain: one in Madrid and the other in Barcelona. The AEQ is the Spanish association that represents all university graduates practicing in our country.
The goal of chiropractic care is to care for the nervous system, primarily by aligning the spine using specific adjustments.
By working with the nervous system, a doctor of chiropractic can treat health problems, including neurological conditions such as headaches, dizziness/vertigo, numbness in the arms or hands, numbness in the legs or feet, sciatica, tingling in the body, cramps, scoliosis, herniated discs, etc.
It’s important to remember that in chiropractic care, the symptoms themselves aren’t as important as treating the root cause of the condition and restoring the body’s overall balance so that it functions better and regains or maintains good health. That’s why chiropractic care is so effective—it addresses various problems and provides solutions.
Osteopathy:
It is the closest thing to chiropractic, since both use the hands to apply external pressure to the human body. Manipulation is the osteopath's tool, while specific adjustments are the chiropractor's tool.
To study osteopathy, you must first complete a degree in physical therapy and then a specialization in osteopathy which, when combined with the three years of physical therapy studies, can take four years. This is the case, at least, if you want to become a true osteopath.
The problem with osteopaths is that there are so many «osteopathy courses.» Currently, there is a lack of legislation, which allows people to take osteopathy courses without first having training in physical therapy and to open their own practices.
There is an important factor involved in learning how to manipulate the joints and spine. The fact is that manipulating the joints without the necessary knowledge is dangerous and can actually make the situation much worse. If we consider that the spine is a very delicate and important area, contains the nervous system, it can be much more dangerous to the patient's health.
That's why, if you'd also like to see an osteopathic professional, as long as they have a degree and have completed the required coursework
Chiropractic, Physical Therapy, Osteopathy, and Therapeutic Massage
The difference between chiropractic and osteopathy lies in the way the spine is manipulated and their respective goals:
- Osteopathy focuses on relaxation, improving circulation, and treating any muscular problems; that is why osteopaths are also physical therapists. Remember that osteopaths are not chiropractors unless they have that specific training.
- Chiropractic care focuses on freeing the nervous system from what we call subluxations or vertebral misalignments so that it can function properly and restore and/or maintain health and balance throughout the body.
- As I mentioned earlier, chiropractic care does not treat symptoms; rather, it addresses the root cause of those symptoms. For example, if a patient visits an osteopath with lower back pain, the osteopath might manipulate only the lumbar region, where the pain is primarily located.
- However, since chiropractors do not focus solely on where the symptoms are, they will examine the entire body and make specific adjustments to all the vertebrae that need them, regardless of whether or not there are symptoms in that area. Chiropractic care is also available for animals.
In other words, at first glance, osteopathy and chiropractic may seem the same, but they are not, because their goals are different.
The first is a form of therapy because it is aimed at relieving only the symptom, and the second is a form of medicine because its goal is to address the root cause of the pain and help the body achieve and/or regain optimal health. For this reason, chiropractic care is suitable for all ages.
Physical Therapy:
To become a physical therapist, you need to study for three years. The program leads to a university diploma. Physical therapy is a health discipline that focuses on symptom-oriented treatment. It treats symptoms of a wide range of conditions—both acute and chronic—through therapeutic exercise, heat, cold, light, water, and manual techniques. After earning their physical therapy degree, many practitioners go on to pursue a master’s degree to specialize in sports or rehabilitation, among other options.
Its purpose is to treat muscles and ligaments, as part of the rehabilitation process. To achieve improvement, various techniques are used, including electrical stimulation.
Chiromassage:
Although both chiropractic and chiromassage share the prefix “chiro,” which means “hands,” they have very different approaches and objectives.
A chiromassage therapist completes 150–300 hours of training in less than a year. There is no university degree program for chiromassage therapists.
The goal is to give massages and relax the muscles. That's all—and who doesn't want a good massage!!!
In conclusion:
Choose your goal based on the career you want to pursue.
If you’re considering treatment through any of these disciplines, it’s important to ask about the academic background of the professional who will be treating you, because in Spain, the lack of legal regulation allows for unlicensed practice.
For this reason, people with little or no training may claim to be something they have not studied. This can lead to negative health outcomes for patients and, as a result, may cause genuine professionals to suffer an undeserved bad reputation.
For example, osteopaths and physical therapists are not chiropractors but rather physical therapists with one year of specialized training in manual therapy; therefore, they cannot be called chiropractors.
