Due to their commitment to marketing, chiropractors have become very familiar to most people. Even if you do not regularly visit a chiropractor, chances are you know someone who does. Osteopaths, on the other hand, do not market themselves so heavily and so remain something of a mystery to many people. Because people do not know what osteopaths do, they do not know how they are any different from a chiropractor.
Osteopathy and chiropractic are not that different from each other in the grand scheme of things. Daniel David Palmer, the found of chiropractic, was influenced by Dr. Andre Taylor Still, who created the modern field of osteopathy. Both practices are committed to maintaining the integrity of the spine, as they believe that this is the basis for all good health. This philosophy can also be found in yoga and many martial arts.
Both osteopaths and chiropractors focus on removing aches and pains from the patient’s body. Osteopaths will also do some work with larger systems such as treating respiratory or digestive issues. Some chiropractors treat these disorders as well, though traditional chiropractic treatment is solely concerned with aches and pains.
The main difference between osteopaths and chiropractics is how devoted they are to their specialty. Osteopaths are recognized as primary care physicians and qualified to perform surgery. Doctors of chiropractic are specialists who are only visited by patients to have work done on their joints, muscles, or tendons. Both chiropractors and osteopaths have the ability to order x-rays, though chiropractors tend to do this more often. In both cases, most diagnoses are reached through visual examination and palpation.
Chiropractors use a wide range of techniques to manipulate the spine in order to bring everything back to proper alignment. Osteopaths do not have as many manipulative techniques, but they are more likely to use stretching, pressure and movement to restore alignment. Osteopaths claim to be more gentle in their techniques than chiropractors, although this varies widely from person to person and is hard to generalize.
Another thing that varies greatly based on the specific practitioner is the length and frequency of treatments. In general, however, osteopaths encourage longer sessions while chiropractors prefer shorter, more frequent treatments. Osteopaths generally only recommend regular treatments in the case of severe cases, including scoliosis or abnormal curvature. Chiropractors are more likely to sign patients up for regular visits.
It can be difficult to find clear answers on the difference between chiropractors and osteopaths because there is a history of hostility between the two. This makes many people cautious in their explanations because they do not wish to infer that one is a real doctor and the other is not. Th