If you have recently experienced an injury, or are living with chronic pain or mobility issues you may be wondering what the best treatment is. Often, people mention chiropractic care and physiotherapy in the same sentence. But what is the difference between the two and how can they help you?
Physiotherapy and chiropractic care are two treatments that have different goals for the body. In this article, we’ll elaborate on what each of these treatments include, how they differ and how they can help you.
For personalised advice, contact our team at Absolute Body Health Solutions today.
What is Physiotherapy?
Physiotherapy is the practice of using exercises and manual therapy to improve your mobility and functionality. This is used to help treat pain and improve recovery and quality of life. A physiotherapist will assess your body to determine the right exercises and stretches that can help you. Likewise, they can help guide and inform you about different approaches you can continue to pursue at home.
Qualifications
To become qualified as a physiotherapist, a student must first graduate with a Bachelor’s or Diploma in physiotherapy. Depending on their chosen course, this will take three to four years of study and assessments.
Once their study is complete, they must then register with the Physiotherapy Board of Australia to practice. The Physiotherapy Board manages the standards for all physiotherapy practices across the country. They also handle any misconduct or other issues and concerns.
What Can Physiotherapists Treat?
A physiotherapist can help treat a range of conditions. Most often they support your recovery journey after an injury or surgery. They work to rebuild your strength, increase your mobility and relieve tension and pain.
Physiotherapy techniques can also be used to help treat conditions such as arthritis, multiple sclerosis, strokes and even Parkinson’s Disease. Through the right techniques, physiotherapy can help to alleviate and manage the symptoms of these conditions.
Likewise, physiotherapy can be used as a preventative measure. By improving your flexibility and strength you can reduce the likelihood of sustaining an injury as well as slow down or prevent the worsening of your condition.
What is Chiropractic Care?
Chiropractic care and treatments are similar to physiotherapy in that they are also non-invasive. However, instead of focusing on rehabilitative exercise, chiropractic care focuses on correcting misalignments in the body. This can be a misalignment of the spine or other issues concerning your musculoskeletal or nervous systems.
By correcting these issues a chiropractor can help to improve your body’s overall functionality. This can be used to improve your posture and circulation, reduce pain and treat different conditions.
Qualifications
To fully qualify as a practising chiropractor, a student must first complete a relevant Bachelor’s degree in chiropractic care followed by a Master’s or Doctorate. These courses combined usually amount to five years of study.
Once complete, a chiropractor must then register with the Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Agency. Likewise, they must meet the requirements set out by the Chiropractic Board of Australia in order to practice.
What Can Chiropractors Treat?
While physiotherapy is targeted towards improving your mobility and recovery, chiropractic care targets the root cause of your concerns. By adjusting your body so that it is naturally aligned a chiropractor can treat chronic pain, migraines, injuries and other conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome.
For instance, by realigning your spine a chiropractor can improve your posture and reduce strain on your body. In turn, this can help treat back pain, and neck pain and relieve overall muscle tension and aches.
Which is Right for You?
While these areas have some overlap, they both have different overall goals and use different methods to treat your body. To find the right treatment method for you, it is important to consider the cause of your concerns or condition.
If you are living with chronic pain, migraines or stiffness, chiropractic care can help to relieve tension across your body and treat the cause. If you are struggling to manage your mobility or have experienced an injury, physiotherapy might be what you need to improve your strength and speed up the recovery process.
For a Health Team That You Can Trust
At Absolute Body Health Solutions, our team of health practitioners are dedicated to personally treating your concerns and improving your health. If you need support but you’re not sure where to start, we can conduct a full-body assessment to help you find the right treatment.
Don’t hesitate to make a difference in your health journey, contact our team today and get started.
