Menu
Are you suffering from chronic pain and stiffness in your muscles, ligaments, tendons, or bones as a result of an orthopaedic accident or condition? In that case, manual therapy might be the answer you’ve been looking for.
Physical therapy employs several treatment methods that are supposed to assist individuals who have had impairments due to illness, surgery, or accident. Therapy aims to lessen pain while enhancing, regaining, and restoring defective bodily capabilities. Manual therapy is one option that physical therapists could select for a patient’s overall treatment plan. Manual therapy refers to the skilled passive movements that involve the hands-on interaction between physical therapists and the patient.
Even though manual treatment is optional for all patients, we must recognise the power of human touch in the healing process. Hand treatment can be very helpful in improving mobility, reducing discomfort and swelling, and building strength at the site of injury as part of the broader goal of diagnosing and treating patients.
In the skilled hands of knowledgeable physiotherapists, manual treatment may do wonders by easing pain, increasing mobility, and enabling a safe return to your favourite sports and hobbies. Manual therapy uses a variety of hands-on approaches to evaluate and treat chronic illnesses and injuries that cause pain, stiffness, and restricted range of motion in your spine and limbs.
Your licensed physical therapist uses a variety of specialised techniques known as “manual therapy” to identify and treat musculoskeletal issues. In comparison to conventional medicine, which frequently uses drugs or surgery, manual therapy strongly emphasises the expert application of manual techniques for joint manipulation and mobilisation of soft tissue to help relieve pain and restore correct function.
Manual therapy is an excellent treatment for a variety of ailments, including tendonitis, bursitis, post-surgical problems, joint limitations, muscle strains, and ligament sprains. The foundation of manual therapy relies on therapeutic, hands-on methods that encourage tissue relaxation and healing. To enhance joint range of motion, and tissue mobility, reduce oedema, and release constraints that limit a patient’s ability to engage in functional activities, manual therapy procedures require skilled hand movements by a qualified therapist.
Although manual therapy and massage both use hands-on methods to manipulate soft tissues, their goals and objectives are different. The main goals of massage treatment are to increase circulation, decrease stress, and induce relaxation through the use of friction, stroking, and pressing techniques.
Manual therapy, on the other hand, focuses on treating musculoskeletal problems like joint dysfunction, muscle tightness, and biomechanical imbalances through targeted interventions like joint mobilisation, soft tissue manipulation, and corrective exercises.
These conditions include neck, hip, knee, shoulder, and ankle pain. Massage therapy may not always offer the same therapeutic benefits for some musculoskeletal issues, even though it can support manual therapy as part of a holistic treatment approach.
In manual physical therapy, mobilisation and possibly manipulation methods are the most often used manual therapy techniques. The force used, and its speed and amplitude distinguish mobilisation from manipulation. Different amplitude forces and speeds are employed while applying mobilisation techniques.
High velocities and low amplitude movements that are delivered to the joint within its anatomical bounds are manipulation techniques. These methods target passive soft tissue motions that improve range of motion and mobility and help people carry out daily activities more easily.
Every day, physical therapists evaluate patients who have lost strength as a result of injuries. Regaining strength at the site of injury is a necessary step in getting back to your pre-injury status. A variety of methods are available in manual therapy that can be used to increase strength.
Using manual resistance on the wounded body part is one well-liked method. Throughout the range of motion, the therapist may employ this technique to assess the patient’s strength, quality, and neurological control of movement.
The literature is full of disagreement over the efficacy of manual therapy. Every study that demonstrates the advantages of one type also indicates that the effect is smaller than expected.
Analysing these studies is challenging because of the variations in therapists, procedures, individuals treated, and situations.
Manual treatment has numerous advantages, but it is only appropriate for some patients or conditions. There is no one-size-fits-all method for manual therapy. When determining how best to use it, physical therapists must consider the client, their condition, and the desired outcome. To help their patients heal and perform better, a skilled physical therapist will combine manual therapy techniques with mobility, education, and exercise.
Manual therapy is a helpful type of treatment that has a lot of positive outcomes. Although it is not required to be used in every treatment session for every patient, manual methods can be beneficial for many problems that physical therapists treat regularly. A physical therapist’s hands can be an effective diagnostic and therapeutic tool.
