What is Manual Therapy?

A lot of physical therapy techniques involve the use of machines, exercises, and tools to help relieve pain. Manual Therapy, however, is delivered through the therapist’s hands. With the help of Occupational Therapy in Holbrook, you can find pain relief through Manual Therapy.

How does it work?

Before beginning the therapy sessions, a practitioner usually performs a full assessment of the patient’s problem areas to figure out which manual therapy techniques will work best. Manual therapy uses a range of techniques that all involve skilled hand movements and passive movements to manipulate joints and soft tissue. These techniques include:

• Soft Tissue Mobilization. The goal of this technique is to break up inelastic or fibrous muscle tissue and localize areas with high tissue restriction. Soft tissue mobilization consists of applying rhythmic stretching and deep pressure to affected areas to help reduce pain and restore the normal tissue texture.
• Strain-Counterstrain. This is a passive positional procedure which is geared towards correcting abnormal neuromuscular reflexes. These abnormalities can cause pain and tenderness for patients. Strain-counterstrain involves therapists finding tender areas in patients, holding the patients in comfortable therapeutic positions, slowly moving them out of the position and applying stretches. 
• Joint Mobilization. This technique involves loosening up the patient’s restricted joints and increasing their range of motion. This is accomplished by gently moving joints and bones in ways patients cannot move on their own. 
• High Velocity, Low Amplitude Thrusting. This is a more aggressive manual therapy technique, but patients should not be in pain following the treatment. High velocity, low amplitude thrusting restores the gliding motion of joints by taking a joint to its restrictive barrier and thrusting it about 1/8 inch past its restrictive barrier. It does not move the joint beyond its anatomical limit and restores joint movement.
• Muscle Energy Technique. This is designed to elongate shortened muscles, mobilize restricted joints, and relieve pain. It engages the joint restrictive barrier without putting stress on it. Through the muscle energy technique, a practitioner applies a counterforce to the voluntary contraction of a patient’s muscle. Then the practitioner moves the joint to a new barrier where the patient creates another muscle contraction. This is repeated multiple times.
• …and more!

Conditions Treated

Manual therapy is very effective in treating patients who are suffering from conditions including, but not limited to:

• Painful joint mobility
• Lack of joint mobility
• Muscle spasms
• Muscle tension
• Overall joint dysfunction
• Chronic back pain

Benefits

The use of manual therapy allows for a safe, non-invasive approach to pain relief. It is very important to find Occupational Therapy in Holbrook where the healthcare professionals are reliable and experienced so that you are getting the best possible treatment. While some of the techniques listed above may seem painful, patients very rarely report pain after treatment. If anything, their pain levels decrease after continuing the sessions with their therapists.

Occupational Therapy in Holbrook

If you or someone you know is interested in finding Occupational Therapy in Holbrook, East End Occupational Therapy may be the right choice! Here at East End Occupational Therapy, we understand how chronic pain can hold you back from doing what you love. Our dedicated and experienced staff are here for all of your Manual Therapy needs. Visit our website and contact us today to schedule an appointment!