What is the Difference Between Physical Therapy and Chiropractic Care?

We have already talked about the difference between physical therapy and occupational therapy (see blog post below, PT vs. OT), so now let's talk about the difference between physical therapy and chiropractic work.

To reiterate, physical therapy is the treatment of disease, injury, or deformity by physical methods such as exercise (strengthening, stretching, neuromuscular training, etc.), hands-on treatment, massage, and other modalities (heat, electrical stimulation), rather than by drugs or surgery.

A chiropractor is a practitioner of the system of integrative medicine based on the diagnosis and manipulative treatment of misalignments of the joints. A chiropractor works to correct subluxations, which is a partial dislocation or a slight misalignment of the vertebrae, regarded in chiropractic theory as the cause of many health problems.

The main difference between a chiropractor and physical therapist is the chiropractor focuses on your body’s alignment, and physical therapy focuses on a person’s posture, proper joint motion, strength, and mobility from an injury, surgery or disease.

   By: Rebecca Popma

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