What are the Differences Between an Osteopath, a Chiropractor, Or a Physiotherapist?
When someone suffers a sports injury, joint pain, or a number of other chronic painful conditions, they often first think of visiting a chiropractor or a physiotherapist. However, in many of these cases, an osteopath would be ideal to treat the conditions.
To help you understand which type of treatment you should seek for your injury or source of pain here is a quick rundown on the differences between these three practices.
Osteopathic manual therapy in Bondi Junction
How Osteopathy And Chiropractic Care Differ
Chiropractors and osteopaths in Bondi Junction work on a lot of the same principals and philosophies (which isn’t surprising as the first chiropractor was a student of the man who founded Osteopathy).
They both share the common goal of helping free up or release any restrictions that may be found within the joints of the body, and they both believe that all disease or pain that we suffer has an origin in the body. Chiropractors believe that all origins of disease are due to restrictions in the spine, however, while osteopaths work on more areas than just the spine.
An osteopath will work with muscles, nerves, blood flow, movement behaviours as well as the joints, believing that any sort of muscular tightness or imbalance can impede a joint’s function.
How Osteopathy And Physiotherapy Differ
Much as with chiropractic care, physiotherapy and osteopathy are quite similar in nature. Perhaps a key difference is that physiotherapists, while they treat a wide range of joint injuries, don’t tend to treat as wide a set of symptoms as osteopathy. Physiotherapists also tend to make more use of machines like TENS machines and ultrasounds to help treat any injured areas on the body.
Osteopathy, unlike physiotherapy and chiropractic care, is more focused on treating the body as a whole rather than one particular area that may be causing pain. Osteopathy focuses heavily on treating several areas of the body in an integrated manner.
For example, an individual may be suffering from knee pain. An osteopath will look at the biomechanics of other parts of the body to determine the source of pain: to see if there’s an issue with the alignment of the ankle, the back, or the pelvis that could be causing that knee pain.
Your local Bondi Junction osteopath will be able to help you and your children with a range of conditions, including pregnancy issues, joint pain and sports injuries. Your trained osteopath will be able to make self-management recommendations based on your physical complaints.
So which type of therapist should you choose? This really depends on a number of factors, including your injury, your lifestyle, and your personality. If you are unsure about an osteopath you can read more here.
Why Bondi Junction Residents May Need an Osteopath
There are many reasons to visit an osteopath, and issues such as headaches and sciatica are a couple of very good ones. Unfortunately, too many GPs and medical professionals will prescribe analgesics for the treatment of headaches, and many people simply use over-the-counter medication to deal with their pain. However, long-term use of medicines such as paracetamol, aspirin and codeine can put a great strain on the body, whereas quite often the pain can be addressed safely and naturally.
How Osteopathic Treatment Works
Osteopathy offers one such treatment option, as a trained osteopath is in the ideal position to work out exactly what is causing your pain and how to treat it effectively – often without the need for medication. An osteopath believes that the body is designed to self-heal, and will do so with the right treatment.
Finding an Osteopath
If you need an osteopath Bondi Junction and the surrounding areas have many options available to you. This means it’s especially important to do your research before choosing an osteopath. It can be tempting to call the nearest osteopath, but be aware that treatment can take place over an extended period of time, and can be physical in nature, so it’s especially ideal to find an osteopath you can trust and with whom you feel comfortable.
Osteopathic Treatment Bondi Junction
What to Expect in a Consultation
An initial appointment with an osteopath can be quite long, even up to an hour, as the osteopath takes the time to discuss your pain with you. Pain is unique to an individual, and many causes can produce similar pain, so correctly identifying the cause of the pain is the best way to begin treating it.
An osteopath considers the body holistically, so will look not just at the affected tissue, but the surrounding body structures and organs in order to make their diagnosis. So an osteopath will discuss your pain, perhaps try to find when it began, may then ask to examine your body, and will often ask you to make particular movements in order to facilitate their diagnosis.
The Treatment Plan
Once an osteopath has made a diagnosis, he or she will formulate a treatment plan which may involve particular movements or exercise, as well as massage and other physical manipulation. They are also able to advise you if they believe your problem would be better dealt with by another medical professional.
Treatment by an osteopath can involve just a few sessions, or become long-term, depending on the nature of the physical problem. This really depends on the cause of the pain and how extensive the issues the body has are. Acute pain caused by an injury, for example, may be more quickly dealt with than chronic pain which may be the result of many years of body dysfunction.
References:
http://www.bridgetohealth.co.uk/osteopath/2008/11/whats-the-difference-between-osteopathy-physiotherapy-and-chiropractice/
http://www.breathandbody.com.au/blog/2016/10/15/whats-the-difference-between-osteopaths-chiropractors-and-ph.html
http://www.osteopathy.org.uk/uploads/what_to_expect_from_your_osteopath_leaflet.pdf
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