Osteopathy vs physiotherapy

[RogerS]

Just wondered when you'd go to which one and for what problem. Always confused me as to which was best for what problem.

And then, of course, there's chiropractic treatment......

 

[TonyW]

I am not 100% sure of this but I think that physiotherapists are more conventional medicine trained health care professionals working in hospitals and clinics. Osteopaths and Chiropractors while undergoing intensive training might not necessarily have to follow the same clinical path as physiotherapists.

As to which one to go to for what condition I think that that could be largely a matter of personal choice or maybe recommendation. I have friends and relatives who have had treatment for various problems from all of these disciplines and all swear by the treatment they received. Just to throw something else into the mix what about acupuncture- again I know people who think this is the best.

Cheers
Tony

 

[oddsocks]

I've never been to a chiropractor but have and do visit the osteopath about every 3-4 months. I first started when I hurt my back by twisting and was lying on the floor for an hour just to ease it - 2 x 30 min sessions (£32 a time) over 4 days were the best money ever spent. One key difference is that Osteopaths (can) also perform cranial Osteopathy - so work on the whole body. My wife suffered 3 migraines in 2 days and had them every few months. After cranial osteopathy she has had none for 2 years. They are also good for babies and children (again friends with examples of 6-10 month crying babies helped by cranial oesteopathy - makes sense as the head is squeezed at birth). Here's a comment i just found by searching on google - it's from a forum for SC (Sydenhams Chorea - don't know what that is)...

My son is now 11 years old and has Sydenhams....I took him to see a Cranial Oestopath, as he had been having violent migraines. Since we have been going to see the Cranial Oestopath... has improved so much so that he is now in school full time and he only has problems when he is overtired o

I asked my Oestopath what his 'unusual' treatment result was - he quoted a party challenge (I think from a doctor) to cure his 10 year old that had never breathed through his nose all his life (always mouth open). After a short course of cranial oesteopahy he breathed normally


Personally, I'm a 'normal' skelatel problem' patient - still its strange being told that most of your spine is locked, your left shoulder is in front of your right and your neck doesn't move enough (he cured my shoulder by seemingly holding his hand still near my diaphragm for a few minutes - apparently it released a muscle that was pulling that side down. Then he cracked' my neck and virtually every vertebra to get me flexible again.

My daughter when 11 was in a car accident that only started to cause problems when she was 21 - sorted by the Oesteopath - that is quite common as the problem is realised when the body grows and what every got twisted or moved runs out of space.

As the other post said, its all on recommendation and for me it was from a family with migraines that were cured - so my wife went first then got me an emergency appointment when i hurt my back

 

[mr]

I saw an osteopath after a motorcycle accident left me not walking. He was a lovely man though quite quite mad - reckoned he could feel where the problem was because of changes in heat output from the skin, as I say quite the loon. However, he did get me walking again within two months for which I am eternally grateful as you might imagine.
Cheers Mike

 

[oddsocks]

here's another useful fact link about the training etc

http://www.osteopathy.org.uk/about_osteo/

one para from the start that helps explain the difference between them and chiropractors...

Osteopathy is a way of detecting and treating damaged parts of the body such as muscles, ligaments, nerves and joints. When the body is balanced and efficient, just like a well tuned engine, it will function with the minimum of wear and tear, leaving more energy for living.
...

Osteopaths treat a variety of common conditions including changes to posture in pregnancy; babies with colic or sleeplessness, repetitive strain injury, postural problems caused by driving or work strain, the pain of arthritis and sports injuries.


I come under the postural due to driving / work strain :-(

 

[White House Workshop]

The biggest difference between osteopaths and chiropractors as I understand it is that chiropractors only treat misalignment in the skeletal system whereas osteopaths and physiotherapists also treat the muscles and tendons.

I'm studying the musculoskeletal system as part of a CPD course I'm doing right now. Hans Kraus, the 'father' of sports medicine and a renowned expert on back pain discovered that 60% of back pain is actually the result of tension and not of any physical injury. Take that one step further and you have tension headaches, tension migraines etc. The studies I'm doing (Autogenic Training) address that tension issue and that therapy is well known for getting rid of persistent headaches and migraines. It also has other beneficial effects...

I got rid of my own back pain using a technique called EFT - again another case of tension causing it.
[/ramble off]

 

[dedee]

My father who has suffered from sciatica amongts other things maintains that an osteopath will take the pain away but the physio will develop the muscles so the pain does not happen in the first place.

Andy