Chiropractor, osteopath, physio, or thai masseuse?

B

Birdsall

Guest
My back is buggered and causing me quite a lot of grief. Local muscular pain like a shiving just under the shoulder blade when I bend down or roll over in bed. (No, it's not my wife.) Can anyone give me a clue as to which of the above flavours of back-quackery might be the best bet for some relief? Better yet a name of someone in Dublin. Happy ending not essential.
 
Re: .

Actually this thing has saved me hundreds of euro on visit to various other 'treatments'.
 
pain

i can personally vouch for chiropractor, it is painless, immediate relief...if you listen to them you will have to kepp on going there forever...i'd go for for maybe...10 sessions. after that you might as well take charge by finding out what causes the back pain and take corrective action by:

not doing what causes the problem.

go to a physiotherapist or better a yoga class and learn how to do regular excersises that relax the back.

only take painkillers to suppress a particular painful event, do not make it a habit. avoid altogether unless you really need it.

the chiropractor i went to is called advanced chiropractor, they are near ballsbridge, you'll find them on the yellow pages.

good luck.
 
Re: pain

Are there any statutory or non-statutory regulatory authorities in Ireland for the types of treatment mentioned above?
 
Re: pain

Thanks for the feedback. I am still none the wiser as to the relative expertise of these professions. Isn't a chiropractor a spine cracker? My grief is sourced nowhere near my spine.....

How much does 10 (!) visits to Adv.Ch. cost?

Stobear's contraption is looking like the cheap option I think.

PS. Painkillers are great, I won't hear a word against them.
 
I went to a chiropractor, Joe Mc Grath Bsc DC MCC MBAAC in the Rathmines Chiropractic Centre, Guilstan Terrace, Rathmines Dublin 6 last year (Ph 4979273).

The initial visit was E50 and it was E40 after that. The treatment is painless and it worked for me.


Murt
 
afaik "chiropractor" is another name for osteopath. Osteopaths are highly-trained (4 years full-time, 5 part-time here in UK) and regulated and only practice after extensive training in anatomy and neurology. I used to make welded-steel sculptures. Imagine what that did to the spine of a 5'4" woman hefting I-beam sections round a studio 10 hours a day? My osteopath in London used to have me straight again in two treatments on the frequent occasions when I was carried there (no exaggeration).

Though I now live 70 miles north-east of London I recently started another course of treatments.......this time for chronic back stress gathered over years in an emotionally-pressured environment. This chronic complaint......which caused stiff painful hips, knees, ankles, wrists, lower back, combined with the fact I'm 15 years older......is taking longer.

It is a costly treatment and the length depends on whether its chronic or acute (yours sounds acute, therefore quite quickly resolved). In my experience it does work. I am so impressed I'm contemplating undertaking the training myself to have a new skill to move forward with when I retire from present work in 3 years time.

Google to find out more as there are "national" trainings in most countries (but not, I think, yet in Ireland!).

Physiotherapy? I've been referred on one occasion by my G.P. after a road traffic accident. It's NHS. I didn't see the same practitioner twice in a row. None of the three people who manipulated me (and that's what it felt like!!!) seemed to give a toss how much pain, or what results. I did not find the experience useful or illuminating and only three sessions were available after a month-long wait.

That's my tuppence worth. Never ignore back pain. It doesn't sort itself and may be serious.
 
afaik "chiropractor" is another name for osteopath. Osteopaths are highly-trained (4 years full-time, 5 part-time here in UK) and regulated and only practice after extensive training in anatomy and neurology.

I thought that chiropractors and osteopaths were different? Who regulates each of these? I don't doubt that these and others do training - I'm just wondering what sort of professional oversight applies to these areas.
 
Clubman, is this helpful (from the British Association of Osteopathy website - www.osteopathy.org.uk)

Is osteopathy regulated?
The Statutory Register of the General Osteopathic Council (GOsC) opened on 9 May 1998. The title "osteopath" became protected by law from 9 May 2000 when the transitional registration period ended. As a result it is a criminal offence, liable to prosecution, to describe oneself as an osteopath in the UK unless registered with the GOsC.

The GOsC regulates, promotes and develops the profession of osteopathy, maintaining a Statutory Register of those entitled to practise osteopathy. Only practitioners meeting the high standards of safety and competency are eligible to join this register. Proof of good health, good character and professional indemnity insurance cover is also a requirement.

What qualifications do osteopaths have?
Osteopaths undertake four to five-year honours degree programmes underpinned by thorough clinical training.

My own osteopath (whom I undertake a 4 hour round trip to London each week to see - there's a vote of confidence!) has practised for 35 years. He is "an osteopath". I've encountered geezers who did basic osteopathy training but offer all kinds of airy-fairy cranial whatsits and mumbo-jumbo and I would avoid them like the plague!

As with builders, doctors, accountants, therapists - there are some brilliant practitioners, some absolute duds, and most come somewhere in between. I'm fortunate to have found someone exceptional.
 
That URL does work if you make sure to omit the ")" on the end! The "Find an Osteopath" section lists 15 practitioners in Dublin
 
Thanks but I was wondering specifically about regulation/oversight in Ireland. I'm just a bit wary of professions which are not adequately regulated leaving open the possibility of quacks and charlatans setting up in business. What sort of professional qualification/certification should one look for in relation to practitioners of these professions?
 
I once asked my doctor to recommend a chiropractor.

He said he only knew of ONE good one and she had moved abroad by the time I asked him. He said he would be very reluctant to send me to another.

AFAIK chiropractors are unregulated and don't need medical (Irish recognised) qualifications.
 
AFAIK chiropractors are unregulated and don't need medical (Irish recognised) qualifications.

That is what I suspected but I am open to correction. I'm not saying that there are not good ones out there but without proper regulation/supervision/certification one could be getting a pig in a poke...
 
Hi there,

I've been having problems with my lower back, shoulders and neck for years on end the only thing that works for me is acupuncture and lately Osteopathy. I have been seeing one since September and for the first time in years I'm painfree even when I'm under extreme stress.
Have been to a few chiropractors but only got short term relief. An Osteopath concentrates on the whole body whereas in my experience Chiropractors work on the area where the pain is. That area is not necessarily the source of the pain though.
I can only recommend Osteopathy then again have only been to one who was recommended to me. He is great.
E.
 
ClubMan - the basic qualification is BSc degree and they must be State Registered to practice. That applies to Ireland, too! Some of the 8 training institutes in the UK are university based e.g. Middlesex. As a PAM myself (Profession Allied to Medicine) I always introduce myself to a new patient by reciting my qualifications and State Registration and recommend this as a matter of course. I agree with you - there are a lot of charlatains around who have read a couple of books or done an evening class........scary!

The General Osteopathic Council website lists 13 practitioners in Dublin. Implicitly they must be qualified/State Registered to be on the GOC register.
 
I think I'll find one of the 13 and give them a try.
Thanks for the help.

The whole topic reminds me of a Sopranos (??) episode when somebody is told by the physio the Jets use that nobody knows anything when it somes to backs.
 
The General Osteopathic Council website lists 13 practitioners in Dublin. Implicitly they must be qualified/State Registered to be on the GOC register.
Click to expand...
This is a UK-body, right? There is no Irish state registration for osteopaths, afaik?

Does the UK state registration offer any protections to the patient? Is there a regulatory environment that goes along with registration?

I would be cautious about osteopaths/chiropractors. I'd be inclined to fully exhaust standard medical channels (GP, specialist, physio) as a first priority.
 
Rainy - as you see from the excerpt from my post above on the General Osteopathic Council website, anyone (wherever they live!) is committing a criminal offence if they practice as an osteopath unless trained by an accredited training institute and State Registered! This applies to all state-regulated professions including art psychotherapists, who train in one of the 6 training institutes here (all offered within established universities) and then go off to/return to various other parts of the globe to set up as private practitioners. Any complaint against me by a patient to my professional body is automatically investigated. If it has foundation I am struck off the register. If I continue to practice without State Registration...........or even if I allow my State Registration to lapse - I am in breach of the law.

Of course this doesn't mean that charletans don't offer services to people in pain and some of them do damage. That's why there is State Registration and accredited trainings! So these people haven't a leg to stand on.

I'm not involved in the osteopathic profession apart from my own very positive experience. The important point is that if a person has back problems (statistically 1 in 5 people do!!!!) there is an established reputable treatment.........so long as you make sure you've gone to the right shop and not bought from a street-vendor.
 
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