Physio, Chiro, Osteo…

Disclaimer: I am not a practioner of any of these, I’ve just been a patient.

So many ‘Oooooooo’s’!!!

What is the difference? I’ve tried them all. So here is my brief run down of each so you can see if any of these may be able to help you recovery from trauma, injury or just maintain your health and wellbeing.

The aim of all of these therapies is to reduce pain, improve movement and agility and/or recovery from surgeries or injuries. It’s about helping your body to heal itself. I think it’s fair to say none of these can cure you, they are all about helping your body to regulate and heal themselves.

Physiotherapy

My experience of physio is that’s it’s includes testing different movement and function in your body, and then treating with massage or movement manipulation and then stretching. They sometimes use different equipment to help with stretching and moving, for example elastic bands, or gym equipment like treadmills, bicycles etc.

My main experience with Physio was through a concussion clinic that worked on helping me build back muscle and overall fitness resilience. It was a mixture of a chat, some massage or manipulation and/or working out on gym equipment. But I’ve had a few over the years and they can be hit an miss. I’d recommend doing a little research, read their google reviews or ask for a recommendation from a friend, family or community member.

It’s funded in part by ACC in New Zealand so is an affordable form of treatment.

Sessions are typically between 30mins to 1 hour depending on what ails you.

Chiropractic Therapy

I’ve definitely been a crack addict, as some people call it. Chiropractors work largely on your skeletal structure and work to reduce subluxations in your body. A subluxations in simple terms is a misalignment in your vertebrae or joints. They use a series of quick movements and positions to align and relieve subluxations.

In a session you may lie on your back, tummy or side, depending on your injury while they manipulate your body into different positions to release tension. It’s quite fast and effective. The only downside I’d say is that it seems to be a therapy that your body needs regularly so it can be an investment financially and in time. But some people swear by it.

I first saw a Chiropractor in Wellington who was incredible and actually did a bunch of nutritional support and kinesiology too.

It’s funded in part by ACC in New Zealand so is an affordable form of treatment.

Sessions are typically 15 - 30 minutes.

Osteopathy

My impression is Osteopathy is that it’s a mixture of Chiro and Physio - it’s both muscular and skeletal. It seems to be to bit more all of body. It can involved a mixture of releasing subluxations, stretching and massage. There is also a specific branch call Cranial Osteopathy, which is similar but difference to Cranio Sacral Therapy. They may give you some exercises to practice on your own at home to help realign, rebuild, or stretch our your muscles.

My experience has overall been really positive with Osteopathy, I found it a really great balance, the best value for money and walked out of sessions feeling great.

It’s funded in part by ACC in New Zealand so is an affordable form of treatment.

Sessions are typically 45 minutes.