Are Chiropractors or Osteopaths Worth Visiting if You Are Already Seeing a Physio?

• 

  AustriaBargain on 01/12/2022 - 14:27

  +8

  I'm sure a chiropractor has some insights into the human body, just remember that they are dangerous quacks.

  • 

    altomic on 01/12/2022 - 14:36

    bUT tHey arE DOctOrs !

• 

  sim777 on 01/12/2022 - 14:33

  +1

  Personally would have absolutely no faith in either chiro or osteo.

• 

  sagrules on 01/12/2022 - 14:37

  +3

  Osteo tend to do great remedial massage, but its only a temporary relief. Would not touch Chiro.

  • 

    resisting the urge on 01/12/2022 - 16:29

    Massage is just one method/process (tool 'in the bag'), it really depends what is causing the problem and what inflammation/symptoms must be worked around to get to it. If you just get a massage, maybe you want a new Osteo

    • 

      sagrules on 01/12/2022 - 16:31

      I had lower back pain which is why I was getting the massage. Turns out my mattress was too firm for my back and was causing my back pain. Once I started sleeping on a memory foam mattress my back pain went away and no longer needed the Osteo.

      • 

        resisting the urge on 01/12/2022 - 16:37

        That's great! Straight to the cause.

        • 

          sagrules on 01/12/2022 - 16:38

          @resisting the urge: The funny thing is not once did either of them mention that could be the cause, all for the $$$

          • 

            resisting the urge on 01/12/2022 - 16:47

            @sagrules: Did you tell them to diagnose the potential possibilities as a priority, or might they have perceived you to be after immediate relief? How much did it cost?

            • 

              sagrules on 01/12/2022 - 17:07

              @resisting the urge: Yes I specifically asked them if it could be my mattress as I had no back issues prior and it would happen every morning after sleeping on it.
              It was 10 years ago now, I think it was around $60-$70 a session with some form of PHI rebate

• 

  bobbified on 01/12/2022 - 14:39

  It'll be just fine.
  If the chiro screws anything up, ask the physio if they can fix it.
  If the physio screws something up, then ask the chiro if they can fix it.

• 

  Boioioioi on 01/12/2022 - 14:40

  +2

  Stick to the physio

• 

  bdl on 01/12/2022 - 14:57

  +2

  It's only one month to go before your extras reset, continue do your exercises and make a booking for your physio for 2nd Jan, avoid the chiros and osteos in the meantime unless you want to be part of some MLM scheme :P

• 

  chumpychops on 01/12/2022 - 15:08

  +3

  If you find the right one they should be able to work well in tandem with your physio. Additionally if the physio has your best interests at heart, they might even know someone who will work similarly to them and perhaps suggest them. If you explain to the physio why, and your not really planning on leaving, nearly all that aren't purely motivated by money would try to help you out.

  The quality of the treatment will largely depend on the individual as opposed to the discipline. The best osteo or even chiro will be better than an average physio and vice versa.
  I personally prefer physio, however have osteo's and chiro's who I trust - but I'll concede they work more like physios and don't adopt a KPI- sales type model where they keep trying to get you back as often as possible.

• 

  GordonD on 01/12/2022 - 15:29

  Osteopaths and chiropractors can do good. They can be better than nothing. It is called the placebo effect. But there's not a lot of point seeing them if you are already getting real treatment from someone who practises real medicine.

• 

  andresampras on 01/12/2022 - 15:32

  I see a physio for chronic shoulder pain. Just bursitis really, keeps coming and going. Most activities I do involves lifting arms up above head repetitively.

  • Have you had scans recently?
  • Have you considered seeing a specialist? I have personal experience with physio making the problem WORSE, because they were working off xray and not MRI as ordered by the specialist I saw eventually.
  • Have you had any cortisone shots?

  I wouldn't muddy the waters with seeing multiple people for the same issue. I think you're on the right track, just need to escalate it if it's an ongoing issue.

  Also I had to lay off the overhead stuff for a while when I had shoulder issues. A year of rest, plus specialist treatment and my shoulder is good again.

  • 

    esq on 01/12/2022 - 16:29

    • Have done MRI in March for initial injury, rested and back to normal by June. Started flaring up again in August after taking up badminton as a hobby and doing lots of overhead swings with shit form. Have spent most of this time improving that form to avoid injury. I also do bouldering, calisthenics and never feel any lasting shoulder pain from that. Just played bball recently and zero issues with shooting, rebounds, etc.
      Saw physio very regularly since then, 10+ times. Plenty of remedial massage also.
    • Have not seen a medical specialist, have barely spoken with GP since MRI showed bursitis, tendinosis.
    • No cortisone shots.

    I'll be honest your reply has me very anxious that I need to rest for months or even a year, this is a scenario I want to avoid.

    • 

      andresampras on 01/12/2022 - 17:35

      My issues also were related to regular badminton. There's just an insane amount more overheads than in tennis for example….even good technique can be no match for the sheer amount of wear and tear. Plus in badminton there's almost no resistance to help slow down your arm towards the end of each stroke.

      I don't know how bad yours is but before I saw the specialist there were a couple of times where my shoulder sent shooting pains down my arm, simply from the weight of my arm hanging stationary by my side.
      But also as I said, my recovery was prolonged by an incorrect initial diagnosis.

      My advice to people who ask is to see a sports specialist if the current treatment isn't working well for a long-term issue. The sooner you are satisfied you've given it the best shot medically the better IMO.

• 

  nige0090 on 01/12/2022 - 16:10

  I've had different outcomes with different practitioners within the same field.
  I would avoid chiropractors.
  Don't let anyone manipulate your neck.

• 

  resisting the urge on 01/12/2022 - 16:35

  +3

  Chiros are for bones
  Osteos mostly muscles/tendons, the cause of a lot of our troubles.
  Physios are the medical version who you get referred to during/after a medical problem or injury. They are the IBM of pain, as a Doctor can never get in trouble for recommending you see one. They are however heavily limited by rules and lawyers and each have to find their own ways to work with the idiosyncrasies of medicine and science to get the job done, whereas Osteos and Chiros can free-range solutions to our problem/s.

  All have to deal with nerves and skin so do some level of manipulation and massage.

  Any one can be good, or not so good. A lot can depend on how you present to them and the experience they have had with other clients, and their training

  See an appropriate one depending on what problem you have. Prepare a list of symptoms and explanations of pain, limitations you find and what has happened when you tried any remedies/activities to address them. How well any of them can understand the cause and figure out how best to address it and the symptoms is often a bit hit and miss- and can depend greatly on their personal competence and approach too.

• 

  EightImmortals on 01/12/2022 - 17:03

  My osteo is brilliant for that kind of stuff, over the last few years I have been slowly working through all my old injuries and weak spots and whenever a new one pops up I know who to go to. So far he has helped fix knees, shoulders and back. I'm not sure if they are all the same but mine will do a massage, sometimes a manipulation and then give me a few exercises to do based on whatever bit needs fixing at the time. If you do the exercises the problem eventually goes away. The chiro is a little different and has his uses but not so much for injures, more for maintenance in my experience. Years prior to both I did see a physio for a while due to a dodgy disc in my neck due to a work issue, same deal as the osteo in that she would massage it then give me some exercises to do and and after a while things came good again.

  As with doctors, dentists, surgeons etc YMMV so look for recommendations in your area.

• 

  babymilky on 01/12/2022 - 18:00

  +1

  Physio here

  As others have said YMMV with choosing any of these professions. Many older chiros have a bad rep as they keep you coming back for "adjustments" with no end in sight. A good Chiro will have a lot of overlap with Physio in terms of advice/exercise prescription. I am assuming a good osteopath is the same.

  As some general advice: Things like bursitis are generally an overuse/overload condition. So if you feel your shoulder flaring up its likely you went a bit to hard at whatever overhead activity you were doing. Don't stress if things flare up, as most of the time rehabilitating an injury has its ups and downs. Remember pain =/= damage 100% of the time. While as another commenter said that resting for a year helped them, I'd advise against it as your shoulders will decondition and it will just take longer to get back to where you want to be in terms of your activity.

  Are you doing many overhead exercises outside of badminton? Do you go to the gym?

  • 

    esq on 01/12/2022 - 18:14

    +1

    Thanks mate, good to hear your general advice.

    I do go to the gym mainly for barbell squat and have toned down all kinds of pressing I used to do which is where the initial injury comes from. I switched to a lot of bodyweight stuff that I can do at home, although I have gone very easy on stuff like pullups, it tends to be mainly core exercise I focus on now. Due to the shoulder pain I actually switched my main fitness activity to running 4-6 times a week since March. Badminton is just 2hrs x twice a week, but it involves heaps of overhead rotational swinging.

    • 

      babymilky on 01/12/2022 - 18:44

      Do any of the pressing exercises give you symptoms? If you're able to, start increasing the load, either via tempo, reps or weight, and see how it feels. Warm up with some rotator cuff exercises, and possibly look into late-stage rotator cuff exercises for overhead athletes. Exercise bands are your friends with shoulder rehab

      • 

        EightImmortals on 02/12/2022 - 07:14

        Good advice, I would add try doing bench and overhead presses with dumbbells instead of the bar. Did wonders for my shoulders.

        • 

          andresampras on 02/12/2022 - 14:04

          @EightImmortals: Glad it worked for you and I'm no medical professional, but overhead presses aren't right for everyone with shoulder problems. They certainly weren't a helpful option for me.

          • 

            EightImmortals on 02/12/2022 - 14:31

            @andresampras: Yeah I started light, about 2kgs and have worked up to 12kg over the last couple of years. I noticed the best improvements (as in reduced pain) from doing bench press with the dumbbells though. As you say, everyone is different so people need to experiment and see what works for them.

  • 

    andresampras on 02/12/2022 - 14:03

    While as another commenter said that resting for a year helped them, I'd advise against it as your shoulders will decondition and it will just take longer to get back to where you want to be in terms of your activity.

    To clarify, I took time off badminton specifically because for me, it just became too painful to play.

    I continued going to the gym. As someone who works at a computer every day, I fell in love with seated rows during my recovery period because they were both pain-free and useful to reduce hunch (I had tight chest muscles & weaker upper back, pulling my shoulders forward). I believe lat pulldowns probably also helped me… but with lighter weights, as the starting position was uncomfortable.

    This is not general advice, I'm just relaying my experience.

• 

  Madfrega on 02/12/2022 - 08:37

  As a very active person I had been seeing physio's for 10+ years and not really having my injuries actually fixed. I found an osteo who has been unreal and taken a completely different approach - looks more at how you move and has taught me that a bit of pain is actually ok! He is in Melbourne if you'd like a recommendation just pm me :)

  • 

    wittyusername on 03/12/2022 - 17:02

    Any joint pains or mainly muscular?

    • 

      Madfrega on 03/12/2022 - 17:51

      hmm mainly muscular but also a bit of neural. I also tore my meniscus years ago which has caused me a bit of grief lately so treating that also

• 

  bargaino on 02/12/2022 - 19:03

  +1

  For a serious question like this, I would not rely on asking random strangers on the internet. You need to consult a Tarot Reader, or other qualified psychic to give a personal answer.