# Difference between osteopath, chiropractor and physiotherapist? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 25, 2006, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-osteopath-chiropractor-and-physiotherapist/341595 "2006-01-25T19:42:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MelCthefirst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@MelCthefirst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MelCthefirst)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-osteopath-chiropractor-and-physiotherapist/341595/1 "2006-01-25T19:42:28Z")
What are the basic differences between osteopaths, chiropractors and physiotherapists? And why are osteopaths and chiropractors seen as fringe in the medical profession and not physiotherapists? (I ask because I’ve compacted my spine and the doctor told me 2 - 6 weeks and painkillers and no physio would help, whereas a friend told me go see her osteopath - which I did, seems good so far and he said it would take 2 - 6 months to recover and made more sense than the doctor). ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-osteopath-chiropractor-and-physiotherapist/341595/2 "2006-01-25T20:01:57Z")
> [@MelCthefirst](#): > > What are the basic differences between osteopaths, chiropractors and physiotherapists? And why are osteopaths and chiropractors seen as fringe in the medical profession and not physiotherapists? They didn’t go to med school. To me, that’s a big difference. Who is there licensing chiropracters? Doctor’s have numerous boards, councils, insurance persons, etc… making sure thy are qualified, insured in case something bad happens, and have up to date knowledge. ---
**Author:** ![MelCthefirst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@MelCthefirst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MelCthefirst)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-osteopath-chiropractor-and-physiotherapist/341595/3 "2006-01-25T20:07:43Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > They didn’t go to med school. To me, that’s a big difference. Who is there licensing chiropracters? Doctor’s have numerous boards, councils, insurance persons, etc… making sure thy are qualified, insured in case something bad happens, and have up to date knowledge. Physiotherapists, occupational therapists, nurses etc are all recognised by the medical profession and none of them go to med school. ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-osteopath-chiropractor-and-physiotherapist/341595/4 "2006-01-25T20:11:08Z")
Well, osteopaths and chiropractors are doctors. I have no experience with chiropractors, so I can’t say much there. However, my current PCP (primary care physician) is a DO (Doctor of Osteopathy). He is the first DO I’ve visited regularly. In my town, DO’s are about all that’s available. It is my understanding that the education is a bit different than MD’s, but both are competent professionals. Instead, choose a doctor that can best treat your condition or whose personality best meshes with yours. [Here is a thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=33289) I started several years when we first started seeing this DO. Since that time, my wife has chosen to visit another DO because of some business practices and other things that she didn’t agree with. So far, though, I’ve stuck with the same guy. ---
**Author:** ![threemae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@threemae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threemae)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-osteopath-chiropractor-and-physiotherapist/341595/5 "2006-01-25T20:11:38Z")
I wouldn’t lump osteopaths in with chiropractors, etc. Osteopaths get a D.O. (Doctor of Osteopathy) degree, and although it is more wholistically focused (contradition in terms?) on the health of the entire patient, it is very much based in conventional Western medicine. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-osteopath-chiropractor-and-physiotherapist/341595/6 "2006-01-25T20:18:55Z")
Everything you ever wanted to know about Chiropractors and related medical practitioners, from the SDMB archives: [Let’s Talk About Chiropractors](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=312369&highlight=chiropractor) [Are Chiropractors Quacks?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=238290&highlight=chiropractor) [Chiropractors](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=154724&highlight=chiropractor) (These are the longest and most fact-filled of dozens of threads on the subject.) ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-osteopath-chiropractor-and-physiotherapist/341595/7 "2006-01-25T20:20:17Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > They didn’t go to med school. Osteopaths do go to medical school. They are fully qualified physicians and licensed by state boards. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-osteopath-chiropractor-and-physiotherapist/341595/8 "2006-01-25T20:25:16Z")
**Brief halt to this discussion!** I don’t know about NZ, though I suspect it might be the same, being Commonwealth and all, but in the UK an osteopath is a _completely different thing_ to an American osteopath. [Wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osteopath). > [@](#): > > Doctors of Osteopathic medicine (D.O.s) educated in the United States are fully licensed physicians equivalent to M.D.s. Osteopaths educated in the United Kingdom and elsewhere have a scope of practice limited mainly to musculoskeletal conditions and treatment of some other conditions by manual means. In my experience of “osteopathy” this side of the Atlantic, they’re a bunch of quacks. **You may now resume.** ---
**Author:** ![MelCthefirst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@MelCthefirst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MelCthefirst)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-osteopath-chiropractor-and-physiotherapist/341595/9 "2006-01-25T20:33:52Z")
Wow, I didn’t realise how big the difference between the states and here was. I put these three together because they all seemed to do similar things in NZ at least - they all get bachelors degrees in their disciplines (none have medical doctor degrees), they all deal with therapeutic massage and muscle manipulation. Here they all have professional associations and have to be registered. Of all three, I have only heard people call chiropractors “quacks” and I wondered why and what makes them different from the others. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-osteopath-chiropractor-and-physiotherapist/341595/10 "2006-01-25T20:42:11Z")
My mistake on osteopaths (at least American ones). And I should have not said med school, I should have said something along the lines of having obtained a medical profession degree from a nationally accredited and recognized university or college, and are licensed by government boards to do their job. And I know that chiropractors call themselves doctors, and do go to some kind of school, but I do not consider them doctors. I think they are misleading their patients by calling themselves doctors. To me, someone in the medical profession calling themselves a doctor should have an MD, DDS (in the case of a dentist), or even a PhD (I wouldn’t want an ER doc to have a PhD and no MD, but for a therapist or clinical psychologist it’s fine.) AFAIK, most chiropractors have none of these. I am also unsure of what, if any, government regulation there is on it. They probably have their own, self-run, accrediting board, but to me, that seems a little fishy. Oh, all the OTHER quacks say this quack isn’t a quack, well then, I guess he’s on the up and up. And before I get flamed, I don’t consider all chiropractors quacks, but some certainly are. And it seems the ones more geared towards “homeopathy” are the ones less likely to be recommended by your doctor for some post-op pain relief. Just as an example, I drove my then GF to a chiro once, and since it was so far away, it was quicker to wait in the lobby till her appointment was done. The reading material consisted of books on such topics as: How milk is the most evil poison in the world and we would all be free of every disease if we stopped drinking it The entire medical industry is only there to keep you sicker so they can make more money All healing ha to come from within. You can’t be healed unless you “want” to be healed. Not to mention all the crap about subluxations, and how they are the source of almost every ailment you can get. Cancer isn’t caused by mutant cells, it’s a subluxation! A heart attack isn’t caused by blockage in your artery, it’s a subluxation! You didn’t break your leg while skiing because the ground is hard, it’s a subluxation! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-osteopath-chiropractor-and-physiotherapist/341595/11 "2006-01-25T20:45:34Z")
The one time I went to an osteopath in Ireland, he tried manipulation, then “craniosacral therapy” :rolleyes: then said “this isn’t working, I’d better refer you to a naturopath”. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: An expensive mistake on my part. ---
**Author:** ![MelCthefirst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@MelCthefirst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MelCthefirst)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-osteopath-chiropractor-and-physiotherapist/341595/12 "2006-01-25T23:54:10Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > The one time I went to an osteopath in Ireland, he tried manipulation, then “craniosacral therapy” :rolleyes: then said “this isn’t working, I’d better refer you to a naturopath”. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: > > An expensive mistake on my part. The one I was recommended and went to did therapeutic massage, then some manipulation of legs, then stretches which I have been instructed to do every day. It has certainly loosened up my back and the pain is more dispersed than before - he said it would hurt more in the next few days. On his card he has a bachelor of applied science, a bachelor of osteo science (Melbourne uni) and is registered. I have since spoken with someone else who said the one she went to moved her legs and head very gently and she felt it in her back - felt better afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2006, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-osteopath-chiropractor-and-physiotherapist/341595/13 "2006-01-26T00:16:12Z")
I have considered many osteopaths to be my peers. In fact, I’ve had 3 personal physicians who were osteopaths since I got my own MD degree. I’ve trained and practiced alongside osteopaths, and done peer review on their medical care. **Osteopaths _are_ physicians** , licensed to practice medicine and surgery, to prescribe drugs. They do residency training, sometimes in strictly osteopathic institutions, but more often alongside us allopaths (MD degrees) in major teaching hospitals, and become internists, family medicine specialists, OB/GYN, and about every other specialty. I’ve envied the osteopaths the training they get in manipulation. Lots of times it would have been very handy for me to know those skills. Most osteopaths I’ve worked with didn’t do much manipulation routinely though, and their practice styles were pretty much like their MD colleagues. Chiropractors are something else alltogether. While the Chiropractic and Osteopathy share similar roots, Osteopathy moved towards the scientific, evidence-based medicine realm while Chiropracty, IMHO, did not. There are chiropractors out there who consider themselves scientific chiropractors, who do spine and joint manipulation in order to relieve complaints of the back, neck and joints. I’ve no beef with these guys, even tho I think the evidence doesn’t necessarily show they make a difference in long-term outcomes. But the guys who do spinal manipulation to treat your diabetes, or reduce your risk of getting liver cancer? Forget it. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2006, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-osteopath-chiropractor-and-physiotherapist/341595/14 "2006-01-26T00:16:53Z")
I’m only angry about the osteopath I wasted hundreds of quid on, by the way. I’ve had exceptional results from a chiropracter in Ireland. He refused to touch me until he had an x-ray. Then he drew lots of lines all over it (don’t know what they were, but they looked impressive, and that’s good enough for me), then set me up on a bed contraption with lots of protruding pads, massaged me a bit, then slammed me down on it, hard. Bada-bing, my disk popped back into place and I could walk again. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2006, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-osteopath-chiropractor-and-physiotherapist/341595/15 "2006-01-26T00:19:25Z")
Just to reiterate: > [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > **Osteopaths _are_ physicians** in the US. They aren’t here. ---
**Author:** ![MelCthefirst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@MelCthefirst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MelCthefirst)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2006, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-osteopath-chiropractor-and-physiotherapist/341595/16 "2006-01-26T00:23:30Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > I have considered many osteopaths to be my peers. In fact, I’ve had 3 personal physicians who were osteopaths since I got my own MD degree. I’ve trained and practiced alongside osteopaths, and done peer review on their medical care. > > **Osteopaths _are_ physicians** , licensed to practice medicine and surgery, to prescribe drugs. They do residency training, sometimes in strictly osteopathic institutions, but more often alongside us allopaths (MD degrees) in major teaching hospitals, and become internists, family medicine specialists, OB/GYN, and about every other specialty. It turns out that this is not the case in Britain, Australia or NZ where osteopaths are not licensed to practise medicine or surgery or to prescribe drugs. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2006, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-osteopath-chiropractor-and-physiotherapist/341595/17 "2006-01-26T02:14:31Z")
Point taken, guys. I should have specified that my experience is limited to the US. ---
**Author:** ![cerberus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cerberus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cerberus)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2006, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-osteopath-chiropractor-and-physiotherapist/341595/18 "2006-01-26T07:39:45Z")
It would be helpful to disentangle Doctors\*\* from **Physicians**. **A _Physician_ is a holder of an M.D. (Doctor of (Allopathic) Medicine); of a D.O. (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine); of a D.M.D. (Doctor of Medical Dentistry); of an M.B.B.S. (Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery) ; or of both an MBBS and an BMedSc (Bachelor of Medical Science).** non-Physicians holding doctorates include: DDS (Doctor of Dental Science), DPM (Doctor of Podiatric Medicine), OD (Doctor of Optometry), PharmD (Doctor of Pharmacology) and PhD-Nursing. non-Doctoral-level nurses hold degrees and certifications at various levels: AAN/ASN (Associate of Arts or Sciences in Nursing) usually linked to the LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse); BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) usually linked to RN (Registered Nurse), MSN (Master of Science in Nursing) sometimes linked to the CNP/APRN (Certified Nurse Practioner/Advanced Practice Registered Nurse). Then there’s PA (Physician Assistant). There are also public health paraprofessionals holding the MPH(Master of Public Health); DrPH (Doctor of Public Health)… Pseudo-Quack-Borderline cases include ND (Doctor or Naturopathy) and DC (Doctor of Chiropractic). Animal Physicians hold the DVM (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine). ---
**Author:** ![MelCthefirst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@MelCthefirst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MelCthefirst)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2006, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-osteopath-chiropractor-and-physiotherapist/341595/19 "2006-01-26T19:21:06Z")
> [@cerberus](#): > > It would be helpful to disentangle Doctors\*\* from **Physicians**. > > **A _Physician_ is a holder of an M.D. (Doctor of (Allopathic) Medicine); of a D.O. (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine); of a D.M.D. (Doctor of Medical Dentistry); of an M.B.B.S. (Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery) ; or of both an MBBS and an BMedSc (Bachelor of Medical Science).** > > non-Physicians holding doctorates include: DDS (Doctor of Dental Science), DPM (Doctor of Podiatric Medicine), OD (Doctor of Optometry), PharmD (Doctor of Pharmacology) and PhD-Nursing. > > non-Doctoral-level nurses hold degrees and certifications at various levels: AAN/ASN (Associate of Arts or Sciences in Nursing) usually linked to the LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse); BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) usually linked to RN (Registered Nurse), MSN (Master of Science in Nursing) sometimes linked to the CNP/APRN (Certified Nurse Practioner/Advanced Practice Registered Nurse). > Then there’s PA (Physician Assistant). > > There are also public health paraprofessionals holding the MPH(Master of Public Health); DrPH (Doctor of Public Health)… > > Pseudo-Quack-Borderline cases include ND (Doctor or Naturopathy) and DC (Doctor of Chiropractic). > > Animal Physicians hold the DVM (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine). This also seems to be specific to the US. We would never call a dentist or a podiatrist or an optometrist or a pharmacist or a nurse ‘doctor’, even though they may have phds and technically could be called this (most would not have phds anyway). However, someone with a phd in science or any other discipline, gets called doctor, but probably only in academic circles. My sister is a doctor of paleantology, but no one other than students would call her Dr but then we don’t call university teachers ‘professor’, that is reserved for the most senior positions of which there are usually only 1 or 2 per school and it is a job position. ---
**Author:** ![caveman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caveman/32/7242_2.png) [@caveman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caveman)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2006, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/difference-between-osteopath-chiropractor-and-physiotherapist/341595/20 "2006-01-26T19:44:31Z")
I must add: [Izzard]Osteopaths are different to chiropractors, because of the spelling…[/Izzard]