‘Health is the most important asset of a human being,’ and this is something we all heard from our elders, and it is true, without any doubt. But in this modern life full of hustle and bustle, taking care of your health is not that easy. So in the case, if you are struggling with chronic pain or any physical injury or a pinched nerve, you should seek a chiropractor or physical therapist.
However, if you are wondering who to visit for the best outcome, a chiropractor or physical therapist, this blog will help you. The very basic difference is that a chiropractor is an individual that is professionally trained to diagnose and treat. This makes the person cure any problem related to the musculoskeletal system of a human body. However, a physical therapist is an individual that is trained on the medical professional level to treat any problem.
Well, this includes the problem that arises due to any physical injury or any disease. Moreover, below are a few more aspects relevant to physical therapy vs chiropractor:
Physical Therapist VS Chiropractor
Educational qualification: Chiropractic VS Physical Therapy
Let’s begin with the difference in medical education for both – chiropractor vs physical therapist. For instance, an individual is considered a professional chiropractor when he has a degree of doctor of chiropractic. Well, it requires at least a four-year undergraduate degree in the same field. While pursuing the doctor’s degree of chiropractic one can choose to be a specialist in the spheres such as orthopedics, radiology, and neurology.
When it comes to a physical therapist, an individual needs to have a degree of DPT (Doctor of physical therapy). This doctorate degree is the next step after an individual gets his master’s degree in the same discipline. The various types of specialist in the field of physical therapy are Cardiopulmonary, Pediatrics, Neurologic, Orthopaedic, Geriatric, Integumentary, and Sports Physical Therapy and Clinical Electrophysiology.
Treatment Techniques: Physical Therapy VS Chiropractic
The second major difference comes in the form of treatment techniques of both which are very different from each other. Below-given are the treatment techniques for both Chiropractor and Physical Therapist:
Chiropractor’s treatment techniques are called chiropractor care. It focuses primarily on the musculoskeletal system that includes bones, joints, muscles, and tendons, etc. This whole treatment of the musculoskeletal system is concerned with the mobility of the human body. It further helps in protecting the internal organs. A few major techniques followed by a professional chiropractor are Thompson technique, Cox-Flexion Distraction, Sacro-Occipital technique.
These techniques are used as a form of physical approach to treating immobility and in pain relief. Most of these techniques are focused primarily on the alignment of misaligned joints, or any minor problem related to the spine. Along with these techniques, for a pinched nerve, chiropractor or massage helps. The professional also provides dietary recommendations and pieces of advice to prevent disease.
The physical Therapist treatment technique is based primarily on getting the body back in shape that suffers any sort of physical injury. This further involves immobility issues or anything related to balance or strength, heart disease, fracture, low back pain and so much more. Physical therapists usually mix two or three forms of treatment to cure a specific situation.
The most common techniques practiced by a physical therapist are physical stimulation. They include massage and stretching, muscle energy techniques, immobilization of joints, etc. Moreover, as already discussed, a physical therapist can club two or three of these techniques to treat a specific case.
Benefits of Chiropractic Treatment
Personalized treatment
A chiropractor treats every patient keeping in mind that every individual is unique and so can be his injury. And hence, the chiropractor tailors treatment techniques that might not fit their other patients. Moreover, this is the reason what makes chiropractors stand out.
Immediate recovery/relief
As we talked about the treatment of a chiropractor as unique as the patient, it can cause an immediate recovery or relief from the problem. Many patients have reported that after they underwent their chiropractic treatment. They felt a sense of relief immediately after the treatment.
Benefits of Physical Therapy
Injury prevention
As physical therapy aims the rehabilitation and strengthening of the body, as a result, the body becomes stronger. Moreover, it becomes less prone to any future injury due to the same degree of cause.
Reduced need for surgery and medication
If you are well aware of the effects of the modern medication system on your body then you should at least once consider going to a physical therapist. Before you go under medication, it will most probably reduce the chance of you needing to go under any medication.
Who to visit – a Chiropractor vs Physical Therapist and when?
If you are someone who has just started to indulge yourself in any sort of physical activity such as running, there are chances that you face an injury. In any case, you can go to both a chiropractor and a physical therapist. However, know that injuries occur due to the wrong movement or coordination of body parts. Moreover, this is where a physical therapist is helpful.
While in cases where there is any sort of misalignment of any joint or any body part the chiropractor is the best person to go for. Adam McBride, a chiropractic physician and certified personal trainer in San Diego, California, says that seeing either of them can cause you benefit and totally depends on your condition.
Furthermore, he adds “If there are chronic running form problems, it would genuinely be a good idea for a person to consult with both to ask about how they would determine a care plan to progress the health and functioning. If its general pain, again, either profession will benefit based upon the specific needs of an individual.”
Considering the current scenario of the modern medication system, it’s always a better decision to consult either a chiropractor or a physical therapist. This is because of the reason that the treatment of both includes very minimal use of allopathic medicine.
