Physio or chiropractor? How to choose

This question comes up a lot, usually from someone who has tried one and is wondering whether the other would have been better.

Both are regulated professions with real training behind them, and plenty of people get on well with both. Here's what each actually involves so you can make your own call.

What physiotherapists do

Physiotherapy covers assessment, hands on treatment, exercise prescription and rehabilitation. The emphasis is usually on working out what's driving the problem, treating it, and then building the strength and capacity to stop it returning.

Physiotherapists in the UK are regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council. Sessions typically involve movement testing, some hands on work and a programme you take away.

What chiropractors do

Chiropractic focuses on the spine and joints, with manual therapy and adjustment as the main tools. Chiropractors are regulated by the General Chiropractic Council and complete a degree level qualification.

Many chiropractors also give exercise advice, so there's genuine overlap between the two professions.

How to choose

Rather than asking which profession is better, these questions tend to be more useful:

• What do you want to get back to? If the goal is running a half marathon or returning to a sport, you want someone who will load you properly and test you before you go back.
• Do you want a programme or hands on treatment? Most people want both. Ask what the balance will be.
• How many sessions are they suggesting, and why? A clear answer with reasoning is a good sign whoever you're seeing.
• Will they explain what's going on? Understanding your own problem is what stops you needing to come back forever.
• Are they registered? HCPC for physiotherapists, GCC for chiropractors. Both registers are public and searchable.

What we'd say about our own approach

We work in stages. Restore settles symptoms, Rebuild puts strength back, and Resilience gets you doing the thing you stopped doing. There's a test between each stage, so you move on when you've shown you're ready.

That suits people who want to understand their body and stop repeating the same cycle. If what you want is regular maintenance treatment, that's a perfectly reasonable thing to want and somebody else may suit you better.

The honest answer

The profession matters less than the practitioner and whether their approach matches what you're trying to achieve. Ask the questions above, and go with whoever gives you the clearest answers.