# Working as a chiropractor in Spain



## CNRIII

Hello, 
I'm currently a student in chiropractic school in the US and will be finished by 2012. Once I am finished with school I thought I would like to practice in another country and after reading up a little bit Spain is one of my top choices.

Does anyone here ever visit a chiropractor? Is anyone here actually a chiropractor (that would be great)? I'm having a hard time getting information as to how difficult it would be to get set up as an associate with an established practice, how much money I could potentially make, how accepted chiropractic is in Spain and a host of other questions. 

If anyone has any answers for me, I would really appreciate it

Thanks.


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## mrypg9

If you are a non-EU citizen you will find many obstacles in your way......


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## jojo

I think "Zilly" who posts on here works in a similar field???? I'm not sure if your qualifications would be valid in Spain, so you may have to change or re sit them in Spanish. Also you'd need to be fluent in written and spoken spanish - Not sure that its gonna work for you????????

Jo xxxx


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## Bevdeforges

There's actually two questions you need answered. (Sorry, I don't know the situation in Spain, but I have lived in both Germany and France, where the same sort of question comes up.)

First of all, is chiropractic an accepted profession in Spain? That, I don't know. (It's not in France. It is in Germany.) If it is, you'd have to get yourself qualified in Spain - US qualifications in health professions - or quasi-health professions, as chiropractic is considered in some countries - aren't always recognized.

Secondly, if it's possible to work as a chiropractor in Spain, is it recognized under the Spanish health care system? (Basically, is it paid for, or reimbursed for those under the national health care?) This can make a huge difference as to whether or not it's practical to have a chiropractic practice in a country.

Back when I first got to France, there were a couple of chiropractors who advertised in the English language magazine in Paris. Chiropractic isn't recognized here in France, so they were kind of stuck with the expat market in the area. It also isn't reimbursed under the French health care system, making it kind of uninteresting to even the expats in the area. Here, an osteopath performs the same sorts of manipulations, but osteopaths are not covered under the French system, either. To make a go of it in France, I suspect you'd have to somehow qualify as an osteopath rather than as a chiropractor, though I'm not sure what the requirements are for an osteopath in France.
Cheers,
Bev


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## jimenato

To practise as a chiropractor in the UK you have to be registered with the GCC - there may be an equivalent in Spain. 

I don't know if chiropractic comes on the Spanish health system ( I would doubt it) but I did have a friend who had health insurance (BUPA or similar) through her job in Gibraltar - she got chiro through that.

Here is an extract from am email conversation I had with an American chiropractor practising in Spain:



> _"You have the title "Doctor". Are you a medical doctor or do you have a doctorate in some other field?"_ I have a doctorate in Chiropractic which I received in 2003 from Life West Chiropractic College in California, one of the top Chiropractic colleges in the world.
> 
> _You say "approved by government agencies" Which government and which agencies please?_ As my doctorate was attained in the United States this refers to government approval of the college I attended and the licensing authority that awards the qualification. Here in Spain we are currently going through the many rigerous steps to attain government approval. This is likely to take a further 4 years as the two schools we have started in Madrid and Barcelona have to be turning out graduates.
> 
> _Are you a member of any chiropractic associations apart from the "Spanish Chiropractic Association."?_ I am also a member of the European Accadomy of Chiropractic
> 
> _You say "stringent licensing requirements", which body licences you?_ To pracice Chiropractic in most European countries and the USA one needs a licence much the same as Dentistry and Medicine. Here in Spain the profession is not as advanced yet and is not regulated by goverment yet. This will change in time. Our professional body is the Association Español Quiropractica (AEQ).
> To become a member of the AEQ one must be qualified from one of the recognized schools and if educated in the USA must have passed Parts 1-4 National Board examinations.


Hope that helps


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## crc

I'm pretty sure i've seen stuff about for it, but be aware that you need good written and spoken spanish, and many spanish still do not trust foreign people and would much rather have spanish or foreign people who are married into a trusted spanish family.


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## Pesky Wesky

I take my daughter to a Spanish chiropractor. I don't know what qualifications he has, but the treatment works!!


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## zilly

I truly have little idea- but if I were you I would Google Chiropractice in Spain-and see what comes up! Your professional body should know.Chiropractice is sort of borderline--I can't imagine it's provided by the Spanish Health Service.It is not in the same realm as doctors-vets-nurses-physios etc. who all have to have a college number here to practice.
Good luck !!!!


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## Alcalaina

Chiropractic is regarded with increasing scepticism in Europe, especially following revelations of fraudulent claims by the British writer Simon Singh and the British Chiropractic Association's failed attempt to sue him for libel. 

The British Chiropractic Association Humiliated. | The Quackometer

What the world undoubtedly need more of, on the other hand, is qualified physiotherapists.


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## zilly

Thanks !!!! I'm a pysiotherapist and I agree wholeheartedly agree............................. !


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## jimenato

Blimey zilly - You OK? Someone compared you to a chiroquactor!!!


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## zilly

I forgive them !!!!!--well-sort of !


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## CNRIII

zilly said:


> I truly have little idea- but if I were you I would Google Chiropractice in Spain-and see what comes up! Your professional body should know.Chiropractice is sort of borderline--I can't imagine it's provided by the Spanish Health Service.It is not in the same realm as doctors-vets-nurses-physios etc. who all have to have a college number here to practice.
> Good luck !!!!



I've already contacted the AEQ and am still waiting for a reply. Google helps somewhat. Most of the information is old though. I posted here to try to get a feel for anyone's personal experience. My next step is to find email addresses for chiropractors in Spain and contact them directly. 

Thanks for the help.


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## Rudi2004

Chiropractic is now legal in France


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## Alcalaina

Rudi2004 said:


> Chiropractic is now legal in France


It´s legal everywhere, as far as I know! 

The problems arise when chiropractors - and other practitioners of "alternative" therapies - make spurious claims based on flaky evidence. For example, that chiropractic can cure childhood colic or asthma. 

After the Simon Singh case chiropractors all over the world were advised by the BCA to remove such claims from their websites. They know full well there is no evidence to back them up. It is dishonest and bad practice to delude people in this way, IMO.


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## mrypg9

Alcalaina said:


> The problems arise when chiropractors - and other practitioners of "alternative" therapies - make spurious claims based on flaky evidence.
> .


I couldn't agree more and I would extend that to the treatment of cats and dogs.
After reading a couple of posts on another thread about so-called holistic remedies I asked for links to evidence from vetinary medicine sources that these practices were effective. I received several pms from a poster who gave me further mainly irrelevant information but in spite of repeated requests was unable to provide what I asked for.....in fact one link turned out to directly contradict what had been posted!!!
So....beware of false prophets.
Or of any, for that matter until you've checked their credentials


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## Alcalaina

mrypg9 said:


> I couldn't agree more and I would extend that to the treatment of cats and dogs.


Quite right - and animals don´t even get the benefit of the placebo effect!

This will make you chuckle:
Reiki for Pets


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## Alcalaina

More on chiropractic falsehoods here:

Chiropractors regularly make false claims

I don´t agree with the author that no chiropractors should be trusted, because I´m sure some of them are very effective at easing back pain and getting people to correct their posture. But as he says, what they are then doing is effectively physiotherapy anyway.


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## Pesky Wesky

Alcalaina said:


> Quite right - and animals don´t even get the benefit of the placebo effect!
> 
> This will make you chuckle:
> Reiki for Pets


You're right - it did make me chuckle!

But...IMHO you can't make a bunch chiropracters, reiki, homeopathy, acupuncture, crystals, etc etc all together and you can't say all chiropracters acupuncterists etc are like this, much as you can't say all doctors are bad/ good


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## Alcalaina

Pesky Wesky said:


> You're right - it did make me chuckle!
> 
> But...IMHO you can't make a bunch chiropracters, reiki, homeopathy, acupuncture, crystals, etc etc all together and you can't say all chiropracters acupuncterists etc are like this, much as you can't say all doctors are bad/ good


Sure, there are good and bad; some are well-meaning and caring, others are dishonest and exploitative. But all alternative therapies are based on belief rather than evidence, like faith-healing in a way. Otherwise they wouldn't be "alternative"! And belief can be manipulated.

I know a lot of people feel they have benefited from them, but the most likely reason they feel better is because alternative therapists have time to listen, and offer a personalised service. In contrast to busy GPs who give you five minutes of their scarce time and a prescription for some pharmaceutical or other. You also get something called the "placebo effect" - in 30% of cases people report feeling better even when they have been given a sugar pill. But it doesn't last.

The danger comes when people reject conventional medicine totally and start trying to cure potentially serious conditions with untested, uncontrolled substances, as in TCM, or treatments based on "energy flows" (total b****cks to anyone with a basic knowledge of human biology).

I hate big pharmaceutical companies as much as you do, they are more interested in controlling illnesses than curing them (recurring prescriptions = more profit) and they rip the NHS off something rotten. But it's not an either/or situation. 

As "consumers" of healthcare we have the duty to find out the facts and make our own choices. I personally take a sceptical approach; I don't believe something until I can see reliable and reproducible evidence. And that simply doesn't exist in the world of alternative medicine.


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## Pesky Wesky

Alcalaina said:


> Sure, there are good and bad; some are well-meaning and caring, others are dishonest and exploitative. But all alternative therapies are based on belief rather than evidence, like faith-healing in a way. Otherwise they wouldn't be "alternative"! And belief can be manipulated.
> 
> I know a lot of people feel they have benefited from them, but the most likely reason they feel better is because alternative therapists have time to listen, and offer a personalised service. In contrast to busy GPs who give you five minutes of their scarce time and a prescription for some pharmaceutical or other. You also get something called the "placebo effect" - in 30% of cases people report feeling better even when they have been given a sugar pill. But it doesn't last.
> 
> The danger comes when people reject conventional medicine totally and start trying to cure potentially serious conditions with untested, uncontrolled substances, as in TCM, or treatments based on "energy flows" (total b****cks to anyone with a basic knowledge of human biology).
> 
> I hate big pharmaceutical companies as much as you do, they are more interested in controlling illnesses than curing them (recurring prescriptions = more profit) and they rip the NHS off something rotten. But it's not an either/or situation.
> 
> As "consumers" of healthcare we have the duty to find out the facts and make our own choices. I personally take a sceptical approach; I don't believe something until I can see reliable and reproducible evidence. And that simply doesn't exist in the world of alternative medicine.


Alcalaina,
I know this sounds like a cop out, but I really don't want to argue the whys and wherefores on this forum. I've had a bad start to the day, already had one person completely misunderstand me, talk over me, talk down to me and everything else you can do to talk! Today is not the day for me to argue my point.
I like a bit of discussion, but my reasons for being on the forum are to talk about Spain basically.
Oh and I should say, (because I can't resist!)of course I don't have any information, links, testimonials or other proof that these methods work. I totally disagree that they work on faith though. Most people who try this kind of medicine do so with a certain amount of scepticism and not with an out and out "faith". Most people who practice this medicine are not "quacks" and out to "pull one over you" either.


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## Alcalaina

Pesky Wesky said:


> Alcalaina,
> I know this sounds like a cop out, but I really don't want to argue the whys and wherefores on this forum. I've had a bad start to the day, already had one person completely misunderstand me, talk over me, talk down to me and everything else you can do to talk! Today is not the day for me to argue my point.
> I like a bit of discussion, but my reasons for being on the forum are to talk about Spain basically.
> Oh and I should say, (because I can't resist!)of course I don't have any information, links, testimonials or other proof that these methods work. I totally disagree that they work on faith though. Most people who try this kind of medicine do so with a certain amount of scepticism and not with an out and out "faith". Most people who practice this medicine are not "quacks" and out to "pull one over you" either.


OK I quite understand, some other time/place perhaps! Hope your day gets better and I'm sorry if I made it worse. 
Claire xxx


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