Résumé
In the French healthcare system, physical therapy and osteopathy are the manual professions with the highest representation. In physical therapy, osteopathy, manual therapy and orthopedic manual therapy courses embody forms of ‘manual specificity’. This qualitative study, based on eight semi-structured interviews, explored the differences between these approaches, as well as the motivations of physiotherapists who specialize in them. It reveals issues of legitimacy, competition within the medical hierarchy, and a quest for professional identity. Despite their differences, these practices share common techniques and respond to an integrative trend in medicine.