More often than not, birth defects, aging, work-related injuries, car accidents, or simply poor structure or/and posture can lead to neck tension, back pain, or tension in many people. They are quite familiar with the debilitating discomfort that comes with the pain. When you want to return to a painless life, you often seek a physical therapist’s help for long-term relief.
Depending on the magnitude of your pain, therapists can recommend manual therapy. It’s a specialized physical therapy method, which integrates proper hands-on techniques sans the assistance of machines or devices.
As per IFOMPT or the International Federation of Orthopedic Manipulative Physical Therapists, the definition of manual therapy is the production of Allor any of the effects, such as improving tissue extensibility, inducing relaxation, manipulating or mobilizing joints and soft tissues, modulating pain, changing muscle functionality, and reducing movement restriction, inflammation, and tissue swelling.
Before proceeding with manual therapy techniques, your therapist typically performs a complete and comprehensive assessment of your nerve supply, blood supply, muscles, and bones to ensure that there are no further complications. Depending on the examination results, the practitioner may choose to perform certain techniques.
Therapists often utilize this for breaking up muscle tissue fibers and relaxing muscle tensions. Your therapist may perform the procedure around the accumulation of scar tissue emanating from back injury.
You implement this type of manual therapy for loosening a restricted joint and enhancing the rang of motion. It’s a painless technique that slows down the motion distance and speed.
This procedure integrates voluntary muscle contraction against a specific counterforce for stretching shortened muscles and mobilizing joints.
A therapist show where adhesions come through touch.
The practitioner applies a low amplitude, high velocity, and passive thrust to a joint complex. The thrust remains in its anatomical ambit. The main aim is to restore maximum function, motion and reduce pain.
Adverse effects of manual therapy are transient and common. It excludes spinal stretching or manipulation as they don’t affect the body. The most common pitfall is muscle soreness. Women patients report more detrimental effects than men. Muscle soreness leads to stiffness and pain.
You often use manual therapy for issues emanating from the spinal cord, including chronic and acute back pain. However, you can implement the technique fortreating a wide range of issues.
You can use the technique for treating the thoracic spine. It’s also effective in treating hip bursitis, myofascial hip pain, hip impingement, and post-surgery hip replacements.
Manual therapy doesn’t have any absolute contraindications, but there are some conditions for which you need to take precautions.
There’s a reason why all physical therapists don’t perform manual therapy procedures, despite all of them perform some type of manual therapy form at one time or the other. However, not every therapist uses the technique in a rehabilitation process. It takes years of hard work, skills, and hands-on training to be able to perform manual therapy.
The practitioners don’t have imaging assistant. It requires a special capability to discern the difference or anomalies in tissue consistency. In a nutshell, it takes time to master the combined sensory and motor skills for manual therapy.
Spinal mobilization or manipulation is effective in adults. It’s effective in treating subacute, acute, and chronic low back pain. You also use manual therapy for treating cervicogenic and migraine headache, mobilization/manipulation, and cervicogenic dizziness.
Special manipulation is, however, not that effective for dysmenorrhea and asthma when you compare them to other techniques.
Neck pain needs traction or CPR, Clinical Prediction Rule. It identifies patients with chronic and acute neck pain.
Massage is obviously another prominent therapy. It’s the genesis of physiotherapy. Posture, hand position, and physical contact are the main determinants of massage.
At Physio Tattva, we are committed to bring access to quality physio care through ultra-modern clinics and high-skilled practitioners to all. Our world-class therapists keep a strong focus on patient needs and deliver the highest level of care.
