When you are suffering from neck or back pain, it can be difficult to know what type of pain relief treatment you need. Understanding the differences between chiropractic and physiotherapy will help you make the best choice.
Basically, chiro and physio can treat spinal joint and muscles problem to reduce pain, increase movement and flexibility.
Both chiropractors & physiotherapists treat a number of different but similar neuromusculoskeletal conditions including headaches, migraines, back and neck pain, sports injuries, sciatica, scoliosis, disc degeneration.
What is a physiotherapist?
Physiotherapy is the most widely recognized health remedy available in hospitals and private clinic in Singapore, focus on treating movement disorder, pain or injury. Physiotherapist uses wide variety of physical therapy such as using equipment (Eg ultrasound, electrotherapy, heat therapy), massage, therapeutic exercises, joint mobilisation, joint manipulation, postural education. Treatments session may be more than 30 minutes or more each session, depending on condition.
Besides treatment of work related musculoskeletal or sport injury, physical therapists also help in stroke recovery, post operation rehabilitation, arthritis, pre-natal, post-natal, ergonomics, walking analysis, weight management, cardiopulmonary rehabilitation
What is a chiropractor?
Chiropractors are not real medical doctors. The degree education for becoming chiropractor is called Doctors of Chiropractic. Chiro practise in private clinics settings in Singapore.
Chiropractors mostly use hands to perform and adjust the spinal- technique called manipulations to align the spine. Chiro can treat spinal joint misalignments or ‘subluxations’ which they believed could interfere with the nervous system and ultimately result in many different conditions of diminished health. Based on this assertion, all health problems could be prevented or treated using adjustments of the spinal joints.
Different chiropractors vary in their approach, while some adhere strictly to the use of spinal adjustments less than 5-minute treatment time per session.
Differences between physiotherapist and chiropractors in Singapore
Almost all chiropractors only use passive care and physiotherapists encourage patients to take a more active role in their care and therefore prevent dependence. Physiotherapists educate and give patient knowledge in how to manage their own neck or back pain effectively.
There has been controversy between the physiotherapy and chiropractic professions, with both claiming to be the more superior health care treatment. There has been much research to suggest that both physiotherapy and chiropractic are equally as good in the treatment of back pain.
Suffering in Pain? Who do I choose?
When faced with a pain or injury, we want to be absolutely confident that we can choose a health professional/ specialist that is correct, who can effectively relieve pain and discomfort.
What is most important when deciding whether to go to a physiotherapist or a chiropractor to treat your pain is who you go to. There are good chiropractors and there are bad chiropractors just as there are good and bad physiotherapists.
Our approach at the Physioclinic is that we will cross refer, to make sure patients always get the right treatment. A short consultation will first determine whether you are best to see a physiotherapist or chiropractor.
