Chiropractic and osteopathy
What exactly is the difference between a chiropractor and an osteopath? This is something we get asked a lot and it’s a question best answered by delving back into the history of the two professions…
Let’s go back to the start. In 1895, a man named Daniel David Palmer was practicing as a magnetic and energetic healer in Davenport Iowa. An intelligent and curious man, DD Palmer had always been fascinated by disease and sought to find its root cause in his patients. After incidentally helping a patient of his to restore his hearing following a specific adjustment to the spine, DD Palmer and his son BJ Palmer set to work developing the philosophy, the science and the art of chiropractic. Around the same time, Dr Andrew Taylor Still, a physician and surgeon, was working on the development of osteopathy. These forward-thinking founders were most likely heavily influenced by one another, as each sought to find the root cause of human disease without the use of drugs or surgery. In the following decades, both chiropractic and osteopathy gathered momentum and are now among the leading healthcare professions in the world.
So what’s the difference?! Well that’s a hard question to answer, because there has been a great deal of overlap between the professions in recent years. While both professions seek to address issues with the human body using their hands, historically speaking, chiropractic places more emphasis on the spinal column while osteopathy focusses more on the vascular and visceral systems (blood and organs). In recent decades, however, many chiropractors have taken on techniques from osteopathy and vice versa, meaning that this original distinction is rarely correct. In the end, the core philosophy of both professions is to help and guide patients using hands-on therapy, without the use of drugs or surgery.
“The doctor of the future will will give no medication, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease.”
Thomas A Edison
What do we think? For us, a key aspect of chiropractic is the philosophy that guides and influences our training and professional life. As chiropractors, we are aware that the human body is immensely capable of self-healing, self-regeneration and self-regulation, but is often inhibited in its quest to get there through lifestyle factors, injury or disease. We know that a body that is structurally balanced will function better, with all systems communicating with one another harmoniously. Any obstruction to that balance can impact the balance of the body, the working of its systems, and ultimately its healing and regeneration potential. It is this concept that is key to chiropractic. Through specific adjustments to the spine, gentle manipulations of the organs and subtle corrections to the cranium, we can remove interference that impacts on the functioning of the body and allow it to express its full potential.
“Look well to the spine for the cause of all disease”
Hippocrates
If we look at the education for chiropractors and osteopaths, it is largely very similar. Both require an undergraduate Masters degree, appropriate regulation in their practicing country and ongoing professional development. Chiropractic places slightly more emphasis on hands-on and manual techniques than osteopathy, and also teaches advanced skills in radiography taking and interpretation; something which is not taught to osteopaths. This means that you can trust your chiropractor to read and explain to you any x-rays or MRI scans you may have had of your spine.
Here at Continuum Chiropractic we are passionate about chiropractic, but are also intrigued by osteopathy, which is why we chose to undergo extensive postgraduate training in Sacro Occipital Technique (see our previous blog). SOT was developed by an incredibly inquisitive man called Major Bertrand DeJarnette, who as an engineer, osteopath AND chiropractor, certainly understood the human body like no one else! Over 60 years he researched and perfected his technique. A union of both chiropractic and osteopathy, this way of looking at the body is incredibly refined and specific, which is why we integrate it so strongly in our adjustments here at Continuum. This way we feel we can offer you the best of both worlds of chiropractic and osteopathy when you come to visit us. If you come and see chiropractor Gert Lippens, you can also gain the benefit of his double Masters degree in physiotherapy and years of experience as a physiotherapist. Bonus!
Ultimately, the historical and philosophical differences between osteopathy and chiropractic are not so important. You will find that there is as much variation between chiropractors and osteopaths themselves as there is between the professions. Equally you may find an osteopath and chiropractor who have a very similar way of working! In the end it all comes down to personal preference. If you can find someone with the knowledge and experience to take care of your body with respect and integrity, then you’ve found the right person :-)
