Chiropractic Therapy at Paramount Health

We often get asked about the difference between Physiotherapy & Chiropractic Therapy especially since both modalities are powerhouses in the sports, injury and recovery fields. All too often we find that people have a personal preference for who they would rather see.  Sadly an even larger number of people are intensely either pro or con Physio/ Chiro.  It's important to understand that each modality has fantastic services and skills to offer and that the therapists behind the modalities are individually more important to consider then the modality itself !

Now whilst we can't and won't speak for all Chiro's, we've decided to put together some info to help shed some light around the origins of the modalities. We aim to offer a little background about what differentiates the two and most importantly what it is WE do differently here at Paramount Health!

Chiropractic Therapy Origins

Chiropractic has evolved from the use of and theory that spinal manipulation is used to treat a clients pain and dysfunction. Chiropractors would assess spinal segments that were restricted and treat that with manipulation to free up the neural pathways that were being blocked. This would relieve the pain and discomfort placed upon those nerves. In the early days, chiropractic was limited to just treating spines and spinal related injuries.

Physio Origins

Physiotherapy evolved from a rehabilitative exercise background combined with manual therapy such as massage. Physiotherapists assess the presenting injuries and treat/rehabilitate with corrective exercise to strengthen the weak areas that contributed to the injury. Physiotherapy has many specialising fields, where practitioners work in hospitals and assist in rehabilitating post op patients. For the purposes of this blog, we are just referencing the good work the private practice, musculo skeletal physios practice.

The growth of the Industry

As both professions have matured and more evidence based research and treatments become available within the musculoskeletal field, the lines that differentiate professions is starting to blur. Sure, each profession still has the fundamental characteristics stemming from its origin, but more and more individual practitioners skill sets are blending and there is a strong cross over of skills and applied theory that exists.

It's important to  note that it isn't the practitioners original title that counts, but what postgraduate studies they have taken, the approach they take to your care and how you connect with the practitioner that is more important.

Chiropractic Therapy at Paramount Health

Chiropractic Therapy

The modern Chiropractic that our team practices here focuses more on functional impairment and is not limited to spinal care or spinal related injuries. The team look after all joint related injuries, all muscular injuries and their rehab. We also treat and rehabilitate all sports related injuries. We have developed a treatment approach that includes soft tissue therapy such as massage, active release of muscles and dry needling as well as rehabilitative and strengthening exercises.

These are all combined with the traditional mobilisation and manipulations that a chiropractor is known for. Together this provides you with the best possible outcome via a multi-modal approach to treatment.

Our process is:

  • Assess and diagnose the injury at the site of injury, as well as identify further areas of dysfunction or weakness throughout the body that could be contributing to the presenting injury
  • Treat the injury first utilising a range of soft tissue skills as well as mobilisation and adjustment where necessary
  • Then provide corrective exercise once the injury has stabilised to ensure that your body is functioning in the correct way, to avoid further injury.

The future of the Industry

Moving forward we feel that the blend between how practitioners practice will continue to blur. This won't ever take away from their origins but it will lead towards an environment where practitioners can work more closely together. We are already seeing more and more clinics employ both Chiro and physio practitioners. The team members are doing the same post graduate studies and the same ongoing continuing education.

This approach has seen our chiro team work closely with various sporting teams and individual athletes. We utilise both physio and chiro treatment to ensure the best possible outcome for the patient. Whilst no treatment between practitioners will ever be exactly the same as everyone has their own approach and their own personal touch,  so long as the final outcome is the same, that YOU are better does it matter how you got there?

 If you have an injury or a query that you are unsure about, give us a call we are more then happy to help you out and chat to you to see if we can help.