What is the Difference Between a Chiropractor and a Physical Therapist?
You may be suffering from back pain. A very common complaint. Do you see a chiropractor or a physical therapist? In order to make the decision, it is important to know the difference between what these two types of health professionals do. Both chiropractors and physical therapists are integral components of a patient's medical team, dedicated to treating the whole patient and not just a cluster of problems. But they differ in their approaches and training.
Physical therapy is a health profession that treats movement dysfunctions. At the initial appointment, a physical therapist performs a thorough analysis of movement and range of motion. This analysis includes identifying any dysfunction of the joints, tissue limitations, muscular imbalances and structural disease. Then the patient receives a customized program for rehabilitation, including exercises to do at home. The exercises the physical therapist provides between sessions are as important if not more important than the actual sessions themselves.
In order to help patients, physical therapists use a variety of methods to create changes in tissue and movement patterns to ultimately restore function. Treatment consists of skilled manual therapy (hands on) with therapeutic exercise that simulates daily movements to rehabilitate the body, restoring maximal mobility and optimal mechanical motion, as well as provide preventative care so you don't have problems in the future.
Physical therapist education programs are rigorous. They include such science courses as biology, anatomy, physiology, cellular histology, exercise physiology, neuroscience, biomechanics, pharmacology, pathology, and radiology or imaging. In addition, physical therapy students take behavioral science courses, such as evidence-based practice and clinical reasoning. Some of the clinically-based courses include medical screening, examination tests and measures, diagnostic process, therapeutic interventions, outcomes assessment, and practice management. Students study in the classroom and in the laboratory. In addition, they have a specified number of hours of supervised clinical experience when they actually work on patients.
Some chiropractors primarily treat the spine and others treat the involved joint in conjunction with the tissues. In addition, Chiropractors can order special tests such as X-rays, MRIs and blood tests. Chiropractors' training is also different from physical therapists' training. Chiropractic training generally requires at least three years of college and three years of chiropractic training.
Although chiropractors receive degrees as "Doctors of Chiropractic" they are not medical doctors. Under current law chiropractors are considered "limited providers" in that there are restrictions on their scope of practice. They cannot perform surgery or other invasive (entering the body) procedures nor can they prescribe medications.
Causes of Back Pain
Both physical therapists and chiropractors treat back pain, one of the most common patient complaints. There are several possible causes of back pain. They can include:
- muscle sprain or spasm
- ligament injury
- arthritis of spinal joints
- vertebral disc herniation
- joint impingement or locking
- fibromyalgia (numerous intensely painful "tight" areas about the neck, shoulders or low back)
Besides identifying your cause of pain and the reason why you want to see a health professional, keep in mind the distinction between a chiropractor and a physical therapist so you can make the right choice.
About the Author:
Stephen Kelly is a entrepreneur and freelance writer. Be sure to check out this Physical Therapy Boston website for more great articles like this one.
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