What is the difference between Chiropractic & Osteoapthy ?

Christophe Becquereau

Often we are asked the same question and everyone will give you a different answer but over the years I have worked on my answer a little.

I usually start by saying "Same God - Different Religion!" Yes we are both Manipulative therapies and like my collegue say we use very similar techniques in general as there is only so much a hand can do!
They both came for the USA in 1870.
Although there may be a copyright story about one being a student in the class of the other before he went back home to do his own little receipe... but that's not so relevant.

The main difference could be summed up as one is an electrician and the other a plumber human with the human mechanic. Andrew Taylor Still created osteopathy in 1870 (Kirksville, Missouri). In short he dissected animal and indian cadavers and noticed many things but he thought that if the blood flow around an area is good the health is good. So we are the plumbers using manipulation to restore function, soft tissue for fuid-dynamic and various other techniques to restort the inherent health equilibrium. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Taylor_Still

D.D. Palmer in turn, founded chiropractic in the 1890s he was working with X-ray and notice a correlation between a good health and a straight spine hence the health of the nerve flow. (Electrician). There is difference between McTimoney Chiropractic and Chiropractic, one using more or less force and the duration of the treatments.

I worked in various multi-disciplinary Clinics since my qualification in 1998 and I can tell you: we are all different! Some stick to one technique (HVT - cracking, Cranial, etc) others combine all the tools necessary as and when required. It depends of our background (previous job, work, sport, interest, influence of some teachers, etc) so each practitioner kind of practice his interpretation of the discipline. And when I was going on holiday I decided who I would send my patient to depending on the treatment I was giving them.

The next question is often no asked: Who should I see?

In that case I always say that people tend to go to the person they have heard about via two different referring groups (two different groups of friends not link to one another). Word of mouth is the best recommendation even for that. At the clinic we have 7 osteopaths and although we are all different, as I started the business and I have over the year seen many of you I made sure my team work in a similar way as I would hate my patient to see them and feel that they didn't have the treatment they were hoping for.

To find out more about our osteopath please look our webpage www.themapletreeclinic.com

(Anand Aggarwal will be covering Suzie Burgess Maternity leave from September 2012 and will be added to the website very soon)