What is Manual Therapy?
Manual therapy is the skilled application of hands-on techniques used to prevent, diagnose, and treat musculoskeletal and neuromuscular conditions. Manual therapy is a short-term solution to decreasing pain and improving symptoms, allowing your physical therapy team to improve your muscular movements for long-term health.
Manual Therapy Methods
The following are some of the manual therapy techniques used by our doctors of physical therapy. Your physical therapist will develop a plan of care based on your specific needs, which may include manual therapy.
Cupping
Cupping is a technique that decreases tension and tone in specific areas to allow for improved movement. Cups are moved along the body using a gliding or stationary technique. The vacuum effect created by the suction causes localized pressure, bringing increased blood flow to the area.
Cupping offers a number of benefits, including muscle relaxation, increased range of motion, reduced inflammation, and reduced joint and muscle pain.
Cupping has become more popular in recent years in the sporting world for its impact on blood flow and muscle recovery.
Dry Needling
Dry needling addresses muscle tension through the insertion of thin needles into specific muscular trigger points in the body associated with pain and tightness, leading to decreased pain and increased extensibility.
The insertion of the needles triggers a therapeutic response by stimulating sensory nerves, muscle fibers, and connective tissue.
This technique is often used to address the following conditions:
- General tension or tightness
- Neck or back pain
- Migraines
- Tennis or golfer’s elbow
- Hip or knee pain
- Sciatica
- Plantar fasciitis
Joint Manipulation
Joint manipulation is a technique used to improve specific joint mobility by replicating the natural motion that occurs at that joint during movement.
Your physical therapist will assess the movement at a specific joint and determine if there are limitations, what is likely causing this restriction, and then determine the proper intervention to improve joint motion.
This individualized treatment method can allow for immediate improvements in pain and range of motion at that joint and thus facilitate improved movement with exercises.
Benefits of Manual Therapy
Manual therapy offers up a host of benefits for our clients, including:
Pain Relief
By targeting specific pain points on the body, manual therapy can release tension, reduce muscle tone and promote improved movement.
Increased Joint Mobility
Manual therapy techniques help to restore normal range of motion to joints that may be stiff or restricted. With increased mobility, you’ll be able to perform day-to-day activities with less pain.
Improved Flexibility
Techniques including soft tissue mobilization and myofascial release help to stretch and lengthen tissue. The resulting increase in flexibility promotes a better range of motion and helps to reduce the risk of injury.
Injury Rehabilitation and Prevention
Manual therapy promotes healing by improving scar tissue mobility and restoring normal function in muscles and joints. In addition to addressing existing injuries, manual therapy goes a long way in preventing additional injuries. Why? Because you’ve done the work to identify and address movement restrictions, muscle imbalances, and joint dysfunctions that could show up as larger problems down the road.