- Joined
- Jan 30, 2011
- Messages
- 766
- Reaction score
- 127
Speaking for myself, when I took that Board exam in "physiotherapeutic modalities", it never crossed my mind that I could then take that and trick patients into thinking I was a PT. So deception probably isn't the motivation across the board (not Board). The term "physiotherapy" has been common to chiro licensure, at least in some states. As I said earlier, this may have changed by now following PT outcry and the language may have changed; I honestly don't know.
Use of the term "physical therapy", as I've said many times now, should be restricted to PTs. It shouldn't be allowed for anyone else to use that term.
Other terms, like "rehab", are just common terms that could relate to many fields, PT and chiro included.
The term "therapist" is another ill-defined term that could mean any number of things. But I'll grant you that a patient could misconstrue things and believe that a "therapist" is a "physical therapist" when they aren't. That "therapist" could, however, simply be a "massage therapist", in which case they are a "therapist".
And the word you're looking for is Chiropractic .
This isn't rocket science. Physical Therapy and Physiotherapy are the same thing. Chiropractors are not trained in either regardless of what some board exam said or a website says. Therefore it is misleading and practicing beyond their scope when a DC claims otherwise. Physiotherapy and physical therapy are not generic terms, and physiotherapy is not a catch all for passive modalities or an exercise routine a chiropractor pawns off on anyone who responded to the craigslist ad and then gets to be called a "therapist."
There is no legitimate reason for a chiropractor to use the terms physical therapy or physiotherapy or therapist, it is a means to float on the physical therapy profession, try to legitimize itself, claim professional superiority, make more money, etc.