Physio or Chiro

I've been having upper back pain for a while. I've done some stretches but I feel like it hasn't been helping. Should I book for a physiotherapist or a chiropractor in this situation. I've seen a physio before, but have never been to a chiro. Has anyone had positive experiences with a chiro?

Poll Options

  • 400
    Physiotherapist
  • 39
    Chiropractor

Comments

          • @serpserpserp: Well the difference between you stepping on my back and a chiropractor is that someone who's worth their money at least would have had trainings and studies on human anatomy and physiology.

            I had multiple visits, I had backpain that needed to be addressed because of my work. I was relying on prescribed painkillers to work. I have gotten to a point with the chiropractor to the point where I could work on my back (which he told me to do) and the pain is not there. That's all I am going to say.

            And I think that was precisely what I said.

            I am not going to defend chiropractors who says they cure anything, I am just sharing my opinion about one guy who wasn't like all that.
            This doesn't mean I am defending the entire field, nor I think everyone should see one.

      • +3

        Yeah, except both PS5 and Xbox are the product of actual science. So nothing alike.

  • +2

    chiro is good if say you sleep funny and have a knot in your neck/back which can be massaged and adjusted for that immediate relief feeling. You may need to go back a couple more times as the body fixes itself.

    If you have an ongoing issue chiro wont fix the root cause of the problem and it will just come back

  • +1

    I see both for different things: my physio is good for my muscular issues, my chiro is good for my joint issues. My current physio doesn't really manipulate joints, which I find I need for my back and neck, so that my chiro's domain. Rest of my stuff is my physio's.

    I used to see a physio a long time ago that did manipulate joints from time to time (not to the extent of a chiro) and he was great as a one stop shop. Unfortunately I moved away from his area.

    The chiros to avoid are the ones that don't work on muscles before joint manipulation, the ones that don't give you any sort of exercises to do, and the ones that are essentially snake oil salespeople that claim to cure all sorts of things and give you homeopathic remedies.

    • +2

      Yeah, I was under the impression that a physio helps with muscle pain whereas a chiropractor deals more with bone and joint problems, like spinal adjustments and such?

  • The issue with some chiropractor is that they have limited space so rush you though. Another way of looking at this, is how it feels to have a massage without being warmed up.

    They shouldn't be doing this, just laying down for a period of time helps to warm you up.

    I went to an nationally awarded physio a while back, he was doing manipulations over time with his patients, the difference was that he was able to have them rest up and warm up, so by the time he did the manipulations there was no loud crack.

    I noticed that the best chiro I had also had barely audible 'cracking'.

    Physio and chiro have overlaps, but focus differently I'm told.

    In the end all the good chiro's told me the same thing, do the damn exercises, do the exercises and you don't/rarely go back to the Chiro

    Funny enough the best suggestion I've been told, was by a bad Chriopractor. They all tell you to keep a good posture, this one told me a good method of HOW. Stand with you back against a wall with your shoulders but and head touching the wall. Then walk like that… EXTERMELY weird in the beginning, but over time your body will relax into a comfortable position, but the points of your head and shoulders should stay relatively the same

    • Never seen a physio do "manipulations". Its usually an extremely targeted massage at most and then followed by an exercise plan for the patient.

      • -1

        and that's exactly what a lot of chiro is.

        I recognised it, because I've been to Chiro

        its not an instant crack crack crack…

        Its warming up the area to be manipulated.

        I had a massage, who prepared me for a massage by stretching me, ie pulling at my arm and my leg… I noticed the premise was the same

  • Depends on the issue. I had a trapped nerve in my shoulder that made my right arm ache constantly, physio tried multiple things but couldn't release it. I went to a chiro who cracked my back and gave me instant relief (he also made me get an xray and who told me my spine was misaligned and I'd need to see him every week - I went a second time but felt odd afterwards so I never went back).

  • Physio.

    Bonus points if they give you sport specific exercises and watch your form.

  • There may be chiros who can help you, however its hard to know if you're going to get the essentially a physio who does spine stuff and follows evidence based medicine kind of chiro, or the I'm going to give you a stroke cracking your neck with quackery chiro, or the oh while you're at it I'll cure your asthma with a spine manipulation chiro.

    Chiro, like the early days of medicine and physiotherapy also, is pushing through a foundation of nonsense quackery. But there are still a lot of extremely dangerous quacks out there.

    If what you want is essentially a physio who is good at back pain, why don't you go see one a physio who specializes in back pain?

    Ultimately what will help your back is things you do, not what they do. The physio will give you an exercise program to strengthen or balance out particular muscles. A decent chiro will likely do the same. Make sure you actually do it.

  • +2

    Physio 100%.

    I'm sure there may be good, professional, educated young Chiros, but the majority of the older generation are quacks that want a regular fortnightly income off you.

  • +3

    Had lots of physiotherapy with generally positive but mixed results and only 1 chiro which was more than enough!
    Recently I've been using Exercise Physiologists rather than Physiotherapists, the EPs seem to have a better understanding of why problems occur and can thus prescribe more targeted exercises. They're not hands on though so no massages, manipulations etc.

  • +6

    I had a positive experience with a chiro. Back was in all sorts of bad. Went to physio but didn't help. Ended up seeing a chiro. He asked me what star sign I was, then while I was answering, he hit my back with a steel chair. I can't feel my back anymore and every February I say a hail mary.

    • Why does this not have more up votes?

  • Chiro is basically quackery. I've never see one good Chiropractor, and one quackopractor actually nearly damaged a joint as they were trying to "set" something there.

  • An Osteo or Physio would likely be a pretty good bet. Potentially even a Myotherapist. No harm done in seeing more than one healthcare professional for a second opinion either.

  • Perhaps try visiting both and work out which works better for you, OP.

    I only had experience with chiros. There are good ones out there but it's not easy to know. They are good for spinal and nerve issues, from my experience. Invariably though, they do require you to come back regularly which adds up to the cost.

  • +1

    Ask someone to gently step on your back. lol

  • +1

    Run it by a GP to exclude red flags of back pain. The GP may order some imaging to define the issue.
    If it's musculoskeletal then go to Physio. Try a few. Couple it with hydrotherapy and exercise physiology.
    Unfortunately back issues takes time to heal and I think you need to adjust your expectations for this.
    Your physio/GP can refer to specialists if needed. There is a system for this. If things don't work and your pain is disabling, and you have concerning signs, you can get referred to the appropriate specialist.
    GP can give you pain relief in the meantime.
    Chiro procedures have risks, like shearing of blood vessels. The risk of this happening could be small but effect is very negative especially in areas of the neck. However said, I am sure there are chiropractors very good at what they do. Yet I would not be comfortable to take that risk personally.

  • Osteopath. Or a Chinese massage therapist. Not one in the mall.

  • Physiotherapy is the only one of all the quacks that are in Allied health - id go them

  • +4

    Physiotherapists follow evidenced based practise far more closely than chiropractors. The “good chiropractors” are the ones that follow evidence and use manual therapy as an adjunct to exercise (there are exceptions for the inverse, but they’re rare). However, at that point, they’re merely Chiros dabbling as Physios; at which point, you might as well see the real thing rather than someone with vaguely similar training and practise philosophies doing their best impression.

    The Chiropractic courses are getting better (at least RMIT, from the newer grads I’ve spoken to) but aren’t quite there. In saying that, I don’t think they’ll ever get there, because “there” is too similar to a physio to truly exist as a separate field, in my opinion. They have to somewhat cling on to the spine-centric philosophies, which suppresses their scope, in order to maintain a unique offering. The problem is, something isn’t necessarily good because it’s unique.

  • -3

    Basically, Chiros are for stupid people. You decide.

  • 3 kettlebells will fix your issues

  • -2

    Chiros will do the "work" for you.

    Physios will get you to do the "work".

  • Just do it the OzBargain way and get yourself a Spino-Cylinder
    https://www.reddit.com/r/simpsonsdidit/comments/8lxmwl/found…

  • Go to a dr first make sure it isnt anything serious then get a referral from physio

  • +3

    If chiropractic "medicine" was a legitimate aide to patient care, we'd have them in hospitals. We have plenty of physiotherapists and occupational therapists… but no chiropractors. I think it's pretty obvious why.

    Any spinal surgeon or sports/MSK physician worth their salt wouldn't ever refer you to a chiropractor, but they would to a physiotherapist. Not all physiotherapists are created equal, just like any specialty/profession/vocation, but the good ones are worth their weight in gold (and then some). Their work is actually evidence based medicine with strong studies backing them. I'd love to see any RCTs purporting to show the superiority of chiropractic interventions over placebo or conservative/current management… without a doubt it would be easy to find study design flaws or low sample sizes. Are there even any chiropractic papers published in NEJM?

    If it worked, it wouldn't be complimentary medicine, it would just be medicine; they'd be included in allied health when rehabbing patients in the hospital or community. If it made a difference in patient outcomes, you can bet your top dollar that all public tertiary hospitals would have them. After all, it would result in cost savings (i.e. less likely to require a long rehab duration in hospital, less likely to return/require a hospital bed), better population outcomes (less cost to the healthcare system); it would be a foregone conclusion to include them. There's a reason why the medical community laughs and looks upon chiropractors with disdain; it doesn't affect our salary/remuneration, so it's not even a problem with competition… it's just plain quakery.

    I can't in good conscience ever recommend a patient to see a chiropractor. I've seen enough iatrogenic pathology (or conversely, transient symptomatic improvement without any actual clinical improvement) from patients who do see them.

    • Chiros are quacks. I agree. I lost so much money on them when a physio would have solved it

  • Should exhaust all avenues before seeing a Chiro.

    Has anyone had positive experiences with a chiro?

    Yes, however I think the situation was unique. Had a bad clash playing football and hit the ground hard. Didn't notice anything wrong after getting up and played out the game. Over the next few days a pain in my chest got worse and worse and I couldn't sleep. Eventually took an ambulance to emergency since breathing was difficult and they gave me morphine which worked to get some sleep. Woke up still in pain, many X-rays etc and nothing could be found. ER doctor eventually said "I'd never recommend this normally but might be worth seeing a Chiro". Family member had seen one once so we went there. Immediately said "seems like you have a pinched nerve". Popped my neck which took some pain away but said I had to come back the next day. Came back the next day and cracked my back and I could suddenly breath normal again and the pain was gone.

    However there seems to be way more scummy ones that just take people's money and don't offer any genuine value. I've never had to see a Chiro again after that occasion. Wife hurt her neck /back once and I took her to a local chiro (thinking maybe that would solve the issue before a lengthy plane ride later in the week). Nope, saw her for 4 days straight and just messed around with some metal clicker which I'm sure did nothing, hundreds of dollars down the drain.

    Always see a physio and if all else has failed and you are still in pain may as well try your luck at the chiro before living a life on pain killers (or trying some more witch doctor options).

  • My experience with chiros is my ex-partner going to one and the chiro telling her that the reason she is always tired and had back pain is the result of her chakra flow being imbalanced, so naturally the chiro recommended 1 if not more sessions per week indefinitely to get her chakra flow back to normal. All at the very reasonable cost of $130 per session.

    She also thought modern medicine was poison and used to tell me every time I took Panadol that I was taking poison though…we didn't last long. I guess that's the kind of person that goes to a chiro though…

    Oh and she also had a naturopath convince her to take MMS (miracle mineral solution) which is just bleach and also not to take antibiotics after surgery because it's poison and to take colloidal silver instead. She seemed to have a knack for finding the crazy ones.

  • as an aside, whats the diff between an osteopath and a chiro? or are they like the same thing?

    • +1

      same excrement, different @hole

  • Chiros are quacks. They try to move your bones through 2 minute manipulation and cracks.

    Physios are the best. You need to move the muscles to have an impact on bones

  • -2

    My Chiro has a Physiotherapist degree 😂

  • If you want the best of both worlds visit an osteopath.

    I've been to all 3 over the past 20 years (crook back and neck due to multiple injuries plus bad genetics, it'll never be fixed but it can be maintained) and the osteo far surpassed the other 2 for me.

    The chiros I have seen have helped a little, but would just focus on the skeletal side, getting stuff back in place but wouldn't look deeper to what muscles were causing the issues, plus they wanted to book you in for a follow up appointment before you left, it never got to a point where they were satisfied that I could go without more than 2 weeks before another treatment.

    Physios were great at loosening the muscles with massage and stretching but they didn't do any manipulation of the back or neck (cracking to release pressure) and they'd only do physical work for half the session, the other half would be discussing stretches to do at home.

    An osteopath would do all 3, massage to loosen the muscles, manipulation of the joints, plus give the stretches needed (but in a shorter time than the physios did). Plus they have never been pushy for follow-ups, unless something needed another session they just say book when you feel you like it

  • +1

    There are apparently 4 universities in Australia where you can get a degree in chiropractic. RMIT, Macquarie, Murdoch and Central Queensland. Bizarrely all give you a degree with "science" in its name (like "health science" or "chiropractic science" or "applied science") for something that is the antithesis of real science. Monash is not one that does, and good on it for not devaluing the worth of real degrees with qualifications in quackery.

  • Physiotherapist, every time. If you go to a chiropractor, ask them if they're a 'straight' or a 'mixer'. If they say 'straight', run like hell. They're literally witch doctors.

  • Get diagnosed and treated by a Physio and then seek out an Exercise physiologist to help reduce the risk of the pain returning.

  • +1

    sounds like you need a RINGDINGER

  • Revise your posture… are you hunching over when reading, watching tv, eating, etc. Practice sitting up straight.
    Look on Utube for various ways in which to rectify your posture.

  • -2

    Curious how many of the people downvoting chiropractors are religious/believe in god/s?

    • -1

      What a silly question.

  • +1

    Go to your GP ask for a Medicare applicable referral to a physio, you can get 5x visits free. I thought I was fkd, couldn't get out of bed for 15 minutes each morning until my back eased up, put up with it for 6 months. Went physio they had it sorted that day and exercises to do at home. Tight cartilage in the rear ribs, around the shoulder blades, at the spine. When it flares, I lay on a tennis ball, locate it in the problem area, lift and move arms to get it to release.

  • Avoid the chiro. I typed up a long story twice, but I'll keep it at AVOID the Chiro!!

  • Chiro is better for my lower back, it fixed.

  • I go to a physio who has also had some eastern/chinese medicine training too including acupuncture, dry needling and joint mobilisation techniques similar to what chiropractor uses. He will use whatever method he sees fit to "fix" patients and give us exercises to do during the week. Visited Chiropractors in the past. Gave them 8 appointments over 2 months and had negligible result so stopped.

    • I get you. Chiros are a modern version of the witch doctor

  • This is my personal experience. Five years ago, I visited a local chiropractor (before I did a research) for almost a year on regular basis. That did not help with my back pain that I had at the time.. What helped me was a new chair, new bed and a pillow.. Living without pain for few years.

  • I was going to a Chiro there for a bit with back pain. $80/visit for ~10 minutes of work…and there was no shortage of punters. Seems ludicrous.

  • should have gone to spec savers..

    ….ahh oh wrong thread

  • Osteo all day long.

  • +1

    Chiros are quacks. They are a money sink-hole and their treatments are questionable at best. You cannot fix your spine while only doing 5m manipulation. Physios are the best

  • I've been to both Physiotherapists and Chiropractors over the last 6 years for various long term and short term issues (Posture reform, slipped disk, tendinitis in pecs, neck mobility issues, headaches). Chiros tend to be better for having immediate results and alleviating pain, conversely some physios will do very limited soft tissue work and prescribe stretches that you may or may not have the neuromuscular pathways to correctly engage/perfom.

    The best balance I've found is either a Chiro that has very good wholistic knowledge of muscular skeletal interactions, posture, core etc, or a physio that does a lot of soft tissue work including 'chiropractic' adjustments. Spectrum Healthcare if your near North Ryde is pretty damn good at having wholistic Chiros and Physios, can't speak for there current Chiros as they've changed in the last few years, but I've had a lot of luck with all their staff/specialties over the years.

    On prices, Physios tend to be a bit more expensive per session but health cover usually covers a bit more.
    In the US the difference was absolutely huge, no regulatory bodies on chiros meant the experience was hugely different between practices and they were often quaks with little muscular skeletal knowledge, however I could do Chiro for $30 USD a session or Physio for $200 USD a session. So I just went to my Physio in AU whenever I flew back…

  • +1

    Weightlifting

  • I’ve had chronic upper back, neck and shoulders. Went to chiro routinely for about a year then went to physio where my pains were slightly alleviated via remedial massage and dry needling – I went weekly/fortnightly basis for about a year each. I went to the gym with a pt session twice a week for almost a year to become fitter and stronger and did not help my pains - did weightlifting. By this time I’ve invested in expensive mattresses and 6 different pillows. I also had ergonomic checks done through work by an occupational therapist, had my workstation adjusted, ordered special ergonomic mouse, had x-rays, regular stretching and it still didn’t improve my situation.

    Then I joined a yoga/pilates studio on a whim and I went religiously for a year. They also offer different types of yoga and pilates and tonnes of other fitness classes like cycling, boxing, etc etc so I could really mix things up. I did minimum 3-4 classes of hot yoga in conjunction with other classes. My life revolved around the studio as sometimes I would go in the morning before work and after. Anyway, I really noticed the difference and I no longer had any pains after few months of joining… it was like magic!! It’s a shame as I no longer live close to one of these studio and my pain is back once more. Really contemplating on investing time to visit a yoga studio again as my pain is really taking a toll on me. Membership is around $30-$50/week which is somewhat cheaper than chiro/physio and gym.

    • For those that don't have some genetic defect, that's what we all should be doing to avoid Chiro/Physio. Stretching and exercising.

  • It was an Osteopath who helped me more than a Physio with my ongoing back pain I couldn't get rid of. Only took 1 session.

    Went to a Chiro once when it wasn't needed (so yes I'm the idiot in this scenario) - he screwed up my back a lot worse than it was. I could not bend and was stiff as a board and had trouble both sitting and sleeping.

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