Chiroptactor

Osteopathy vs Chiropractic in Adelaide

If you’ve got an ache, pain or overall would like to have better health, then you might be wondering whether you should see a Chiropractor or an Osteopath. Maybe you’ve got a couple of friends giving you conflicting stories or you have no real information to go by. In any case, we’re here to help with this short overview of these two disciplines and which one you might choose. We’re focused on Adelaide but most of this information should be relevant for Australia too.

Overview

Here’s a quick overview of the main differences between Chiropractic and Osteopathy;

Chiropractic

  • Chiropractors (at Spinecare) have a minimum of 5 years Tertiary qualifications
  • Chiropractic recognises the fundamental role that the brain, spine and nervous system play in optimal functioning of your whole body
  • Chiropractic is focused on the treatment and prevention of specific problems, as well as optimising overall health by improving your spine and nervous system function

Osteopathy

  • Minimum 4 years of Tertiary qualifications
  • Osteopaths focus on how the skeleton, joints, muscles, nerves, circulation, connective tissue and internal organs function as a holistic unit
  • Osteopathy is focused on the treatment and prevention of problems by looking at the overall structure of the body and identifying problems

As you can see, there are some similarities. The main difference being that Chiropractic has a much more specific focus and expertise on how your spine and nervous system affect your overall health. This is the foundation of chiropractic care, which is so important for understanding and improving the body as a whole.

After all, it’s our brain that sets humans apart from the rest of the animal kingdom. Our brains are like incredibly complex, heavy and powerful computers in our heads and they’re involved in virtually every aspect of our body’s operation. The whole system to work effectively relies on the important communication and feedback to and from your brain via your nervous system.

Chiropractic recognises the vital role that your spine and nervous system play in both specific problems (when things go wrong) and overall health. As a systematic analysis and treatment chiropractic not only helps to relieve pain and discomfort but helps get your body back to its optimal potential.

Technology

Technology if used correctly can significantly help to understand what’s happening with your body, reasons for problems and help focus the practitioner you’re visiting;

  • Spinecare Chiropractic – X-ray availability, paraspinal thermal imaging, modern chiropractic adjustment tables, postural analysis
  • Osteopathy – manipulation tables, tapes and straps, electrotherapy machine, dry needling

What do they do

As both disciplines deal with the whole body, there’s a long list of ailments and problems they can potentially help. Here are some of the main ones (click the links for more information on each):

Bulging Disc, Other Disc Injuries, Herniated Disc, Hip Pain, Pinched Nerve, Sciatica, Upper Back Pain, Slipped Disc, Shoulder Pain, Arthritis, Lower Back Pain, Neck Pain

Chiropractic: Chiropractic has a specific focus on your spine and how that relates to your nervous system. Chiropractic adjustments involve various techniques in order to improve spinal movement and function.  Other techniques may include spinal mobilisation, muscle and soft tissue techniques along with nutritional recommendations and lifestyle advice

Osteopathy: Osteopathy combines hands on manual therapy with exercise programming, dry needling, other interventions like equipment prescription and movement advice when clinically indicated. Hands-on treatment may include massage, stretching, repetitive movements, mobilisation and/or manipulation.

Conclusion

As we’ve covered in this article, there are some similarities between Chiropractic and Osteopathy in their approaches but also some great differences. They both have a holistic focus on improving your health and function. We suggest booking an appointment with one of our Chiropractors to find out how chiropractic care could benefit you.