Spinal manipulation for back, neck, and joint pain
Spinal adjustment for pain
Joint manipulation therapyChiropractors are licensed independently in all 50 US states and many countries; the title is regulated, but the underlying spinal manipulation is not an FDA medical product.
Hands-on manipulation within a whole-body medical philosophy
Manual medicine, structure and function
Manual medicine systemIn the US, osteopathic physicians (DOs) are fully licensed medical doctors with the same prescribing and surgical rights as MDs; outside the US, 'osteopath' usually means a manual therapist, not a physician. Regulation varies sharply by country.
A multi-session program of deep connective-tissue work to realign the body in gravity
Deep work to realign posture
Structural soft-tissue bodyworkRolfing is a trademarked term; practitioners are certified by the Dr. Ida Rolf Institute rather than licensed as a medical profession, and the FDA does not regulate it.
Light-touch technique claiming to adjust a skull-to-sacrum rhythm
Gentle skull and sacrum touch
Light-touch manual therapyNot an FDA-regulated medical product; practitioners are not separately licensed in most places and may be massage therapists, osteopaths, or others who took a certificate course.
Folk manual therapy: massage and resetting bones and joints by hand
Folk massage and bone resetting
Folk manual and bonesetting therapySobadores, hueseros, and traditional bonesetters are unlicensed folk practitioners and are not regulated by the FDA or, in most places, by any medical board; they operate outside formal healthcare, which is part of the safety concern.
Gentle hands-on technique aimed at the internal organs
Gentle organ mobilization
Soft-tissue organ-mobilization therapyNot an FDA-regulated product; no separate license. It is taught as a continuing-education technique to osteopaths, physical therapists, and massage therapists.