Manual Therapy

Manual therapy: hands-on healing techniques

Sometimes, situations call for taking the matter in hand — literally — and that’s what manual therapy is all about. Our physical therapists often use their hands to skillfully and strategically manipulate the body’s muscle tissues and joints rather than using a machine or device. Manual therapy is especially effective when used with other physical therapy techniques for treating both acute and chronic pain.

At first glance it is easy to mistake manual therapy for a massage. However, there are significant differences between these two treatment methods. A massage is the use of rhythmically applied pressure to the skin and soft tissues of the body to reduce tension, anxiety, stress, and flexibility. Manual therapy is therapeutic in nature and used to assess dysfunction, relax tense muscles and restricted joints to help decrease pain and improve range of motion.

Physical therapists and other health care providers are trained in the proper use of manual therapy to both evaluate and treat patients. It is particularly effective for those suffering from neck and lower back pain, herniated discs, migraines, fibromyalgia, TMJ (jaw) pain, shoulder injuries, hip and knee pain, in addition to ankle sprains and strains.

To see if you can benefit from a physical therapy program that involves manual therapy, give us a call today.