Keeping our bodies healthy doesn’t require just eating healthy foods and staying away from harmful habits. Sometimes, all we need is to treat the pain and stiffness of our bodies with a session of physical therapy or chiropractic care. But how should we choose between chiropractors and physical therapists?
What Does a Physical Therapist Do?
Before choosing between physical therapy and chiropractic care, you first have to learn about the two practices and their differences. A physical therapist treats body disorders affecting the musculoskeletal, neurological, and integumentary systems. After a thorough physical examination, a physical therapist can create a treatment plan consisting of exercising, a hands-on approach to treatment techniques, and stretching. The goal of the treatment is to alleviate pain in specific body areas and restore their utility as much as possible. Physical therapists can specialize in numerous focus areas such as oncology, orthopedics, pediatrics, and many more.
Are Chiropractors and Physical Therapists the Same?
Physical therapists and chiropractors may seem similar because both physical therapists and chiropractors are medical professionals who focus on treating pain and stiffness in the body. But they are not the same. The approaches they use are the primary way to differentiate the two professions.
Physical therapy aims to treat the body’s restricted movement and its entire functions. On the other hand, chiropractic care’s primary focus is issues regarding back pain, neck pain, joint pain, and even headaches. Also, physical therapy focuses on achieving pain-free movement for the patient, while chiropractic care relieves pain in the spine.
The approaches of physiotherapy and chiropractic care are entirely different. For example, physical therapists use the help of exercises, stretches, and diverse manipulations to improve the body’s mobility. Meanwhile, chiropractors use various noninvasive treatment methods such as spinal manipulations to help the body heal itself.
The environments in which physical therapists and chiropractors work are not alike. While chiropractors need specialized spaces with special equipment to execute adjustments, physical therapists can work at home or in any healthcare environment.
How Do Chiropractors and Physical Therapists Differ Education-Wise?
Both physical therapists and chiropractors need a higher level of education. Chiropractors must have a bachelor’s degree, attend a particular chiropractic school, obtain a Doctor of Chiropractic degree, and, in the end, pass an exam that will ensure them a state license. This entire process lasts eight years.
On the other hand, physical therapists have to pass the National Physical Therapy Examination after attending a Doctor of Physical Therapy program. Compared to chiropractic care, the physical therapy journey takes about seven years to complete.
Is Chiropractic Care Better Than Physical Therapy?
Chiropractic Treatment is Better at Addressing Neck Pain
If you search for a quick way to treat your neck problems, the answer is to contact a chiropractor. Chiropractic care will treat your neck and back problems and adjust your mobility much quicker than physical therapy. The results are immediate, and you won’t have to visit your chiropractor too often. Physical therapists will require you to exercise for an extended period and make changes in your diet for results to show.
Chiropractic Care is Better at Healing the Musculoskeletal and Nervous Systems
Chiropractic care mainly focuses on the treatment options of musculoskeletal system and nervous system disorders. This is why chiropractic care is better than physical therapy when talking about this subject. Physical therapy focuses on the body as a whole and will not decrease pain levels instantly. People visit a chiropractor even if they are not experiencing pain to improve their overall health.
Chiropractic Care and Immediate Pain Relief
Indeed, chiropractic care will ease your pain immediately. This is why many people recommend chiropractic care rather than physical therapy. By adjusting and manipulating different areas of your body, a chiropractic treatment session can decrease pain in just a session. As a result, chiropractic care sessions will be fewer and shorter than a physical therapy treatment plan.
Who is Better at Addressing Joint Pain?
Physical therapy focuses on restoring the mobility and function of the body. This discipline aims to strengthen your body and suggest ways to avoid pain and other injuries. On the other hand, chiropractic care treats conditions like joint pain in the arms and legs. This is the chiropractor’s prime goal, to ease the pain and treat disorders of the joints, neck, and spine.
Who is Better at Performing a Spinal Adjustment?
Spinal adjustments are also known as chiropractic adjustments, so you can only guess whom to choose here. This procedure aims to improve spinal motion and the body’s physical function using spinal manipulation. The chiropractor uses their hands or instruments to apply sudden force on the spinal joint. People experiencing low back pain, headaches, and neck pain are usually the standard clientele for spinal adjustment.
Chiropractic Care is Ideal for Sports Injuries
Athletes are known to frequent the chiropractor’s office. Because athletes force and work their bodies more often than ordinary people, chiropractors can help relieve pain in overworked muscles. An experienced chiropractor will quickly find the sports injury and treat it without any problem. Besides the immediate pain relief, chiropractic care doesn’t make use of more invasive treatments and doesn’t require medication or drugs. Also, athletes who frequent the chiropractor have increased flexibility, which means they are less likely to get injured.
We’re Looking Forward to Helping You at Our Chiropractic Offices in NJ!
At the Bergen Chiropractic and Sports Rehabilitation Center, our chiropractic team, led by Dr. Gregory Doerr, follows the highest and most professional medical standards to provide superior chiropractic help. After all, our mission is to provide unparalleled patient care and services in a comfortable healing atmosphere. Contact us to learn more about our chiropractic services! Our chiropractic offices in Cliffside Park, NJ, and Hackensack, NJ, are ready to welcome you!
