This is a sensitive subject for most physical therapists and chiropractors. Depending on who you ask chiropractors are either magic workers that can pop the pain right out of things or they are quacks. In my experience there are very few people who fall between these two extremes.

Love them or hate them, I don’t really care. I’m not going to say that an entire profession is good or bad, that is never true. There are fantastic physical therapists and there are terrible ones, the same is true for dentists, physicians, nurses, and certainly chiropractors. I think as a whole the philosophy of chiropractors is different from mine, and I obviously think I’m great so I would tend to disagree with that philosophy. However, I don’t think that differences in philosophy are enough to call someone a quack…unless they actually are. If you want to know my thoughts on a specific provider based on accurate information that you can provide me I will happily give you that in private. 😉

Now to the question at hand, which is one I get often in one form or another Can I see a chiropractor while I’m seeing you? or should I keep going to my chiropractor? My answer to this is for the most part situational but in principle my answer is usually something along the lines of “It really isn’t good science for you to be trying too many things at once to try to make (fill in the pathology/symptoms) better. If you are seeing me, then going to a chiropractor, then getting a massage, then doing Tai chi, then taking a bath in Icy Hot and you come back to me hurting more I have no clue what to blame.” In my mind, it is best to bring as much clarity to someone’s pain/dysfunction/etc. as possible in order to help them efficiently and effectively. SO in short I don’t love when my patients are getting treatment from more than one place BUT this is situational. The main reason I would be ok with “co-treating” is to build a relationship with that provider.

Hope that answers that question.