What are the benefits of manual therapy?

Manual therapy is a term physical therapists use when we talk about doing a hands-on service to our patients. This can look like soft tissue massage, joint mobilizations, “adjustments”, nerve mobilizations, stretching and so much more. Manual therapy is a skilled and trained procedure your physical therapist may perform.

Recently many physical therapists have moved away from manual therapy because they feel it gets over-perscirbed and their patients feel reliant on them. While that may be true it is still a very useful and power asset to the rehabilitation process.

Manual therapy has a lot of benefits but should be done when your healthcare provider deems it appropriate. Not everyone should receive the same kind of manual therapy because everyone has a different context, status, and goals with their health. For instance, two people can both have limited hip mobility, but one person may need stretching, and the other person may need joint mobilizations. The physical therapist should be able to run tests to differentiate which ones will help.

Now let’s address some of the benefits of manual therapy.

Reduced pain

Improved flexibility

Decreased swelling

Improved nerve mobility

Improved joint play

Muscle inhibition/excitation

Decreased muscle tension

Improved bloodflow

There are so many benefits to manual therapy, specially if it’s target at specific needs and matches your current presentation. Physical therapists can be excellent providers for manual therapy as they have a great understanding of anatomy and biomechanics.Talk with your physical therapist if it’s appropriate for you.