What is the difference between a Chiropractor and a Physical Therapist
Both the chiropractor and the physiotherapist, or physical therapist, are health professionals who specialize in alleviating injuries to the bones, joints, muscles and ligaments of the human body (osteomuscular system). Although it could be thought that both are dedicated to the exact same thing, the truth is that both have different approaches when treating these discomforts. Likewise, their preparation, their area of specialty and their field of action is different, since neither is a branch or derivation of the other, but rather each one is a discipline by itself.
Chiropractor |
Physiotherapist |
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|---|---|---|
| Definition | Chiropractic is the area of health sciences that is responsible for making adjustments to the spine. These types of injuries are known as vertebral subluxations. One of the main purposes of the chiropractor is to help the patient to (re)discover the body’s ability to heal itself. | Instead, the physical therapist is the expert in the health area who specializes in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of injuries to ligaments, tendons, muscles, bones and joints. Physiotherapy regularly works closely with other areas of medicine, such as trauma. |
| Objective (Specialty Area) | The chiropractor can treat issues such as correcting posture problems, neck and headache pain, and lower back pain. Likewise, it can treat injuries in other parts of the body but always with a focus on the spine. | The physical therapist can help prevent, treat and diagnose musculoskeletal injuries throughout the body. |
| Media | Vertebral subluxations are treated by adjustments in the area of the spine. This means that this area is manipulated through massage, pressure points and accommodation of the vertebrae. | The physiotherapist applies both physical therapies (electrostimulation, cryotherapy, thermotherapy, etc.) and manual therapies (massages of various types, repetition of exercises of various types). |