Manual therapy: is it for you?

Manual therapy: what is it?

Outside of massage and pitch side sports physio, manual therapy is what, I suspect, the public think of all physio is.  More specifically it is a therapist using their hands to apply a force to a patient’s body with the intention of relieving pain.  There are a range of reasons to do this: some obvious like breaking down tight scars or loosening stiff joints, others less obvious like changing pain signals and decreasing muscle spasm.

What conditions does Manual Therapy work for?

If I see someone with a spinal problem (neck or back pain) I will almost always use manual therapy.  However, in my 21 years of experience I also find it to be useful in other joints. This can be increasing the range of motion of a joint, increasing the space a muscle has to glide through or using it to change how the body interprets pain which can in turn reduce muscle spasm.

How does this reduce pain?

When I was researching into this topic one of my main interests was how pain is altered by manual therapy.  We know that if an area of the body is painful or stiff we can move a joint in a pain-free way. This increases brain activity producing pain killers, improving your joint position sense.  This also encourages muscles that have been tight and painful to relax.

This means pain free, gentle treatment can be wonderfully therapeutic.

How do we book in with Pure Physio Albany?

To book expert physio with Pure Physio click here. Or to book an appointment give us a call on 09 4481277 to sort an appointment which suits you.