
Osteopath, Chiropractor, Massage Therapist, Physiotherapist, Acupuncturist
First-time, returning, and curious patients of CAM (Complementary and Alternative Medicine) practitioners often ask what the differences between acupuncturists, physiotherapists, massage therapists, chiropractors, and osteopaths are. Before we begin differentiating them, it’s best to keep an open mind and accept that they share some common overlapping features and treatment modalities with each other. But in spite of these similarities, they also have their distinct characteristics that differentiate them.
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Note: Osteopaths are different from osteopathic physicians. Osteopathic physicians are medical doctors licensed to perform physical manipulations and practice medicine.
- Chiropractors. A chiropractor is specifically trained to diagnose, treat, and prevent diseases of your musculoskeletal system. Some musculoskeletal diseases also affect your nervous system (your nerves); they address those as well.
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- Physiotherapists. A physiotherapist is a professional who helps you on your road to recovery from an illness, injury or disability. They take a whole person approach which means that they also teach you to be independent and give advice on your lifestyle so you can adapt better to your condition. Physiotherapists utilise various techniques such as massage, vibration therapy, hydrotherapy and acupuncture or dry needling as well as giving you a rehabilitation treatment plan. Arguably, they may address the greatest number of medical conditions from the list of professions stated here. These include the following:
- Respiratory conditions like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma.
- Cardiovascular conditions like post-heart attack recovery and chronic heart disease.
- Musculoskeletal and neuromuscular conditions like back pain, sports injuries, and arthritis.
- Neurological conditions like stroke, Parkinson’s disease, and multiple sclerosis.
- Other areas such as incontinence, women’s health, cancer, palliative care.
Note: Some physiotherapists will argue that physiotherapy should not be categorised under CAM. For purposes of simplicity, we will clump them together here.
- Acupuncturists. They practice acupuncture, a major component of Traditional Chinese Medicine. It involves the use of needles which are inserted into specific parts of your body called acupuncture points.
Tips for Choosing the Right Practitioner for You
- List your symptoms and determine the predominant one. You may have a long list of symptoms you’re currently experiencing, but almost certainly, one will stand out above the rest.
- Don’t immediately jump from one practitioner to another type of practitioner. Allow some time for the treatment to exert its effects first before trying out other forms of treatment. Have a little patience. Your body may be new to the treatment and may need some time to adapt and recover.
- When choosing the right CAM practitioner to go to, it’s essential that you check out their credentials. They’re usually posted on the wall of the clinic or waiting area. You may be able to get some feedback from previous patients they’ve treated. If they have a website, you can also check out the reviews posted there.
- In some cases you may benefit from treatment by more than one of these health practitioner simultaneously, especially if you’re recovering from a severe injury or illness. In this case you could visit an integrative clinic where various types of CAM practitioners are working alongside each other. If this is not an option, then your primary practitioner may be able to refer you to other CAM practitioners for a more comprehensive treatment approach.

We are very lucky. In this modern age, we have many helping hands and a wide variety of choices when seeking help for the pain or symptom we’re experiencing. Use this article to guide you to the most appropriate treatment for your situation.
Related Links
References
- https://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Osteopathy/Pages/Introduction.aspx
- https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002020.htm
- https://www.osteopathy.org.uk/visiting-an-osteopath/about-osteopathy/
- https://www.spine-health.com/treatment/chiropractic/what-a-chiropractor
- https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/chiropractic/Pages/Introduction.aspx
- https://www.jmptonline.org/article/S0161-4754(08)00276-5/pdf
- https://secure.rmtao.com/massage_therapy/what_is_massage_therapy.htm
- https://nccih.nih.gov/health/massage/massageintroduction.htm
- https://australian.physio/APAWCM/Physio_and_You/physio/APAWCM/Physio_and_You/physio.aspx?hkey=25ad06f0-e004-47e5-b894-e0ede69e0fff
- https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/physiotherapy/pages/introduction.aspx
- http://www.healthcommunities.com/traditional-chinese-medicine/alternative-medicine/what-is-an-acupuncturist.shtml
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3658605/
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