whats the difference between a pysio/osteo/chiro

[ameeyal]

my friend has been having a chiropracticor out to her horse who has been having problems, she booked an appointment, but then couldnt make it so rang me to see if i wanted to have any of mine done instead as i live just down the road from her, so i booked in for her to see 2 of mine, i dont have an issuses with them. She didnt do much looked at the position of their pelvis felt down their neck/back said they both were slightly sore in the back then put electro pads on the back and rump, it was all over in 20 minutes £45 each, felt it wasnt worth the price, what does everyone else use, whats the difference?

 

[Shay]

No-one should treat your horse without your vets permission. Did the practitioner contact your vet? If not I would wonder about level of qualification / insurance etc. To be brutally honest OP it does sound as if you got ripped off.

To respond to your original point though. If I understand it correctly a Chiropractor looks at the spine specifically - but in my experience use physical manipulation rather than a tens machine which is more for muscle pain.

A Physio focuses on the musculo-skeletal structures body wide and use a combination of manipulation, stretching and electro therapy at address issues with the muscle or skeleton.

An Osteo looks at whole body systems including the lymphatic system and digestive system. They use manipulation too - but for a wider range of issues.

All 3 have fairly strict qualification requirements which is why you find things like equine massage therapists, McTimoney practitioners etc. That is not to say that level of qualification is not as good - it is different. Equine Chiropractors - for example - have to be qualified and registered human chiropractors first - that makes for a long and expensive training process. But there is a route for an equine osteopath that actually involves minimal formal training - as well as the formal route which takes 5 years.

For me - the competition horses see a fully qualified equine physio every 6 - 8 months. More if there is an issue. I haven't used any other version myself. I'm not adverse to doing so if the animal's situation merited it. but only with vet's agreement.

 

[be positive]

I always use an ACPAT registered physio, 5 years of training on humans then they go on to train on animals, the trend does seem to be going towards using machines rather than a hands on approach and most old school physios are not impressed, they will use machines when appropriate but so many now just use them with no manipulation, no follow up and more than likely for no reason other than to be seen to be doing something for the money.

Having just had physio on myself I have an even better appreciation of what a physio actually does, it hurt!! but has made a huge difference, no electro pad could have done what her hands did to release the tension and for it to remain that way.

A"normal" session with my equine physio would start with a thorough assessment in and outside the stable, trotting up, moving around themselves before giving a once over with her hands, that in itself takes the best part of 20 mins if it is a new horse, the treatment, if required usually another 45-60 mins, follow up visit is much the same but normally if they have responded well the treatment time is less or in some cases none is required and she will charge a reduced rate, mine is £50 for a full session.

 

[stencilface]

I've had a chiro for years, never a physio. But after my trimmer spotted things about my horses action that no one else has (vet or chiro) I'm going to get a physio before I get on again in spring. I also had a physio appt for myself last October and the difference in me was incredible, and along with be positive above - it hurt like hell!

I will also be getting a human trained horse physio.

I also never ask the vet about a bodyworker treating my horse, they're not really interested at all! As long as you know what qualifications you're looking for I don't know why you would?

 

[Tnavas]

Physiotherapists help horse affected by injury, illness or disability through movement and exercise, manual therapy, education and advice

A chiropractor is a health care professional focused on the diagnosis and treatment of neuromuscular disorders, with an emphasis on treatment through manual adjustment and/or manipulation of the spine.

Osteopathy is a form of drug-free non-invasive manual medicine that focuses on total body health by treating and strengthening the musculoskeletal framework, which includes the joints, muscles and spine. Its aim is to positively affect the body's nervous, circulatory and lymphatic systems

 

[First Flame]

I use both a physio (£55) and a Veterinary Chiro (£70) (trained as vet but specialises in chiro). My physio is with me for around an hour watches my horse move and then works through my horses whole body and stretches and massages any areas of tightness or soreness and will occasionally use tens or muscle stim equipment if needed and leaves me with at home stretches which will help maintain my horses suppleness. My chiro has a completely different approach, he is there as long as needed, normally around an hour to an hour and half, he works his way round her body checking more her skeletal range of motion and then treats any areas of concern with small thrusts and manipulations of her spine/sacroilicac/pelvis/neck/poll. I notice a bigger improvement following the chiro but the physio helps keep her loose. The chiro I only have 2/3 times a year and the physio every 3 months.

 

[be positive]

I've had a chiro for years, never a physio. But after my trimmer spotted things about my horses action that no one else has (vet or chiro) I'm going to get a physio before I get on again in spring. I also had a physio appt for myself last October and the difference in me was incredible, and along with be positive above - it hurt like hell!

I will also be getting a human trained horse physio.

I also never ask the vet about a bodyworker treating my horse, they're not really interested at all! As long as you know what qualifications you're looking for I don't know why you would?

It is not you who needs to ask the vet for consent to treat a horse but the therapist doing the treatment, there are many implications from treating without consent not least that insurance could be void, from the therapists point of view if they treat an undiagnosed condition and make it worse their insurance could be invalid, if a treating vet reported them their professional qualification could be put at risk, from the point of view of the horse owner they could find their insurance will not pay out for veterinary treatment if physio was done without consent, these circumstances are not likely to happen but can and could have serious consequences for all involved.

My physio did have a situation where she treated a horse, with consent, the vet later denied giving consent and it could have cost her her career, luckily she always got consent in writing so had proof but she did suffer the stress of having the threat made, needless to say she will not treat clients of that vet ever again, she has also seen the other side of things where therapists have been treating horses for ages without veterinary consent that had relatively serious issues requiring veterinary care, by the time the vet was involved in some cases they were beyond treating, they may be rare but it does happen.

 

[SEL]

I use a highly regarded 'body worker' on my mare with full permission from the vets (they really rate her). She has McTimoney, Masterson and a host of other techniques under her belt. I hadn't had the PSSM diagnosis on her first visit and the mare was sore and angry with life - she would fly teeth and hooves at you without warning.

The difference after one session was incredible. At that point I don't think there is any way that mare would have tolerated the manipulation that a physio would have done. A year down the line she was subject to quite a brutal work up by my own physio, but by this time she was more accepting - again, full input from vets as we needed it for insurance purposes.

To me reputation is everything - but from decent sources rather than 'a mate on the yard!'. It also depends what you want the end result to be. My horse has tight muscles and holds herself badly because of that - so those muscles need releasing. I've been playing around with some of the Masterson techniques on her & it's pretty impressive watching her response

 

[stencilface]

I think through chiro I used was 'pretty approved' by the vets as everyone in the area uses him. I would think about getting consent from someone new, although someone new would probably ask, the chiro we've had for years.

 

[vanrim]

I have found physios to be pretty useless over the years and have never seen or felt a difference. Recently I have used a couple of different veterinary chiropractors(trained as vets first) and the difference they have made has been absolutely amazing even though their approach has been very different. Personally I think some physios think they know more than they do.

 

[dollyanna]

But there is a route for an equine osteopath that actually involves minimal formal training - as well as the formal route which takes 5 years.

There is no route in the UK to become an osteopath without training first with humans - legally you MUST be registered with the GOsC in order to use the title of osteopath, and to be registered you must have qualified from one of the accredited universities or colleges and maintain the set levels of CPD each year. Last time I checked CPD had to be human based too - animal courses did not count.

 

[Shay]

Quite true. But there are a range of options which allow you to use the term osteopath in the EU. (And I'm not sure what the penalty for doing so incorrectly in the UK might be.) In no way am I advocating this - but owners need to be aware of how little training some of these impressive titles actually have. One of the many reasons why anyone working on your horse needs your vet's permission to do so!