Can Chiropractic Care and Professional Physical Therapy Work Together?
The answer to this question is a resounding ‘yes’, and in fact, sometimes the absolute best results are achieved when professional physical therapy specialists work in tandem with skilled chiropractic professionals. The two disciplines are closely related in that both call for a thorough knowledge of the muscles and bones of the body, and how manipulating those bones and muscles can relieve pain and restore strength.
Anyone who has worked with a chiropractor before knows how gentle manipulations of the spine can help relieve pressure on nerves, this alleviating the source of the pain and discomfort. People who have received professional physical therapy treatment understand how misused, seldom-used, or injured muscles and bones can be restored to their original strength through proper exercise and stimulation. So it’s really a natural that these two areas of medical treatment be used together in some situations which call for an overlap between them.
Which situations call for both forms of treatment?
One scenario that is tailor-made for combination chiropractic care and physical therapy are many incidents involving automobile accidents. It is often difficult to initially diagnose exactly which bodily systems have been affected for a person going through an auto accident. In some cases, the person doesn’t feel any pain or discomfort in the immediate aftermath of the accident, and it isn’t until days later that symptoms begin appearing.
Once symptoms do being to show up, it’s entirely possible that the spine has been wrenched out of alignment in certain areas, especially the upper part around the neck. It’s also possible that some muscles and bones have been severely injured in the crash, and there may even be some broken bones. When this happens, the bone(s) must be set in a cast, and cannot be used for some period of time. After the basic healing has taken place, physical therapy is probably a treatment that would be used to help restore functionality to the damaged areas.
Any other situation which calls for relieving pain and discomfort through non-surgical means might also involve co-treatment from physical therapists and chiropractic professionals. Since both of these disciplines use a manual or hands-on type of therapy, there is no recovery period necessary after a session, but both can be extremely effective at resolving some kind of issue which is causing a patient some level of pain. It’s also true that physical therapy and chiropractic care focus on a person’s general wellness, which means it involves the best treatment for now and in the future.
Some good examples of such situations might be recovering from sports injuries, household accidents, or any kind of falls which might happen during the course of normal activity. All these scenarios will require chiropractic care to restore proper alignment to the spine and relief of pressure on nearby nerves, while also needing proper exercise in order to restore full functionality to the affected areas. That’s why it’s fairly common practice for these two types of professionals to collaborate on many cases, so as to achieve the best possible outcomes for a patient.
