Osteopath? Oh.. is that like a chiropractor?

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Permalink Reply by pierre de lasteyrie on August 27, 2007 at 4:01pm

Oups sorry for this interpretation. I may have read a bit too quickly.
Effectively our mind is truly important,may we keep it as humble, open and critical as we can, concerning our treatments.

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Permalink Reply by Nigel Beard on August 19, 2007 at 9:30pm

So should your question be what are the regulators doing for Chiros that they are not doing for Osteos? or do you believe that marketing is the name of the game? However I believe you have made a good decision in choosing Osteopathy..........

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Permalink Reply by Daniel Burne on August 20, 2007 at 12:03am

....purely based on my own made up logic...

my theory is, similar to previous ones, that it's because of america...

although, not due to any active marketing. just that in every movie, book or tv show, if back pain comes up they always speak about their chiropractor. it's a word that everyone knows and understands simple because, it managed to get there first (not made first, but widespread success).

this could have actually been because of clever advertising from the "others", but i think unlikely

also... in reference to some of ronan's stats....
what importance is there in the number of new chiros and osteos?
if there's less of us, it just means less competition from each other!

oh and another point! i think osteopathy is definately catching up. whenever you read an article about back pain or therapies in the press, chiropractory and osteopathy are usually paired (or at least both mentioned). we're not getting left behind anymore.

...that all took longer to write than it really should have

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Permalink Reply by Ronan O'Brien on August 20, 2007 at 8:47am

Nigel, I think it is a combination of both. I would be interested to know how the regulators differ in their efforts to promote the profession. However the regulator can only do so much - it is down to individual osteopaths to promote our profession.

Current public awareness of chiropractors is probably more due to historical promotion than current. As Jody said if chiropractors are been taught marketing as part of their degree then that's bound to make a difference in their promotion. And if they have been doing this for the past 20 years, that is a lot of marketing.

Daniel.. (hey!). I think really clever marketing is marketing which becomes so integrated with our mental associations it becomes part of our vernacular. Just look at Google - they managed to make the name of their company a verb! That is a marketing persons dream and no easy task. These things don't just happen.. someone, somewhere laid the foundation for this to occur (although in Googles case I wonder did they realise how successful they would be). Chiropractors have been largely successful at getting people to think "back pain > chiropractor".

Competition?? Oh.. is that what it is like at BCOM? Kuu-raw! and all that.

;)

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Permalink Reply by Jason Harmer on September 6, 2007 at 1:14pm

I'm sure we are all familiar with the '..is that like a chiropractor?' line :-)

Chiropractors do have marketing lectures, and there may be differences in how they are allowed to market themselves. GOsC seem to only allow you say 'I'm an osteopath, call me at this number'. Also I get Chiro leaflets pushed through my door every month and they have a monthly setup in the local shopping center. I have never ever seen osteopathy marketed in that way. Are we being restrained by GOsC or does the underlying personality of the osteopath prevent him from marketing in this way? Do all people with the necessary mental resources to do this kind of marketing go into chiropractic?

We have a chiropractors practice manager at our college, he says that a chiropractor will 'prescribe' a series of treatments at the first consult and re-assessment of that prescription is normally done at the end (6-10 TT later!). That does not seem very 'ethical' to me, surely any diagnosis is a working diagnosis is continually under question and re-assessment. Is this not also part of reflective practice?

I would like say a few words in defence of chiropractors (don't shoot me till you hear what I have to say!!). They are excellent manipulators of the spine and also have superb palpatory skills around that area. X-ray is just another diagnostic tool available to them. It probably also adds to the 'Dr.' illusion they like to create as part of the marketing. I'm sure there are qualified osteopaths who see patients, diagnose and feel an X-ray would help. IE you palpate a step off at L3/L4, is that spondylolisthesis or just an anatomically short spinous process? Surely an X-ray would help to confirm or discount that pathology from your DDs?

Ok, you can shoot me now ;)

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Permalink Reply by Robert Cartwright on September 6, 2007 at 8:36pm

I used to spend a lot of time with a chiro who had just graduated from the Anglo European College of Chiropractic, I asked him about marketing lectures and he told me they had none. We also discussed several times at length, they are told the same sort of negative propaganda as we are at college from other osteopaths.
Chiropractors in the UK have a similar education to osteos and treat similar problems with similar techniques, I think osteos tend to be a little more individual but in general the differences (with modern trained UK osteos and chiros) is how the individual wants to treat.

I used to lecture to 5th year chiropractic students and one of there misconceptions was that we are not trained to diagnose.

I feel the professions would be stronger as one.

Did you know that the General Chiropractic Council charges £1000 per year, they complain it about it just like us.

He also told me that the chiropractic profession is the 3rd largest health care profession worldwide, so they do out number us.

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Permalink Reply by Clement Rhein on November 18, 2007 at 10:59pm

What's the difference between an osteopath and a chiropractor?

Chiropractic is about money making, Osteopathy is about care:

Patients show up to a chiropractor for their first consultation, the complaint gets a chiropractic diagnosis, and then the patient can sign up for a course of 30 treatments (getting a discount offcourse and pays in advance). Will this patient need 30 treatments? or 2? Who knows!

Is this system for the benefit of the patient?
Is this care oriented or money oriented?

I think there are many of us that comes across patient who tell you that they've seen a chiro or a physio and that they've been cracked every time and the problem went away for a while but now its back. Isn't that because they don't focus on what is the real problem - 1° lesion? Isn't it in the interest of the patient to spend less money, less time, and to be sorted with the cause of their pain?
Offcourse, it happens a bit to us that patients come back after some time with the same symptom, but that's a different story...

I think this is in general. There are some chiroprators not like that and there are some business oriented osteopaths (I know some ;-)).

However, the individual chiropractors might not be the ones to blame because if they don't know about the 1° lesion, the long lasting/true/required changes that can happen in the patient, then they can't search for it.

"Osteopath, is that like a chiropractor mate?" she says, standing at the bar.
"Yes, its a bit like a chiropractor and a physioterorist (sorry, physiotherapist) because its hands on, but it still remains quite different." he says.


Re Advertizing:

GOsC is our regulatory body, it is there to regulate the profession or police us, not to advertize us. That is the job of the BOA. And they are not doing too much. Ho yes wait, they moan at the GOsC for their advertizing about osteopathy:-) Anyway, the information about "caring" professions is all out there, on the net and everywhere... That's all there needs to be. Why should we do anymore? I think it is the responsability of the people/patients to make their research as to which therapy they judge to be best appropriate for them.

"The society in which we live in is wrong, its down to everybody to make it change, not just osteopaths." Clement Rhein :-)
Its changing already and it will carry on changing, slowly, but it will.

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