DEFINING MANUAL THERAPY.
Physical therapy done with the hands is known as manual therapy. Using deft hand motions, physiotherapists can use this technique to diagnose and treat their patients.
The main goals are to increase range of motion, relax the body, mobilize or modify joints, modulate discomfort, alter muscle function, enhance movement patterns, and lessen swelling, inflammation, or restriction in soft tissues.
TECHNIQUES UNDER MANUAL THERAPY
Many different hand-on methods fall under the broad umbrella of manual therapy, including the following:
SOFT TISSUE TECHNIQUES:
Soft Tissue Mobilization
Muscles are moved during soft tissue manipulation, which breaks up scar tissue. Additionally, mobilisation aids in the removal of waste from the injured region, hastening the healing process. Through the release of muscular tension, soft tissue mobilisation improves flexibility and range of motion. The therapist may employ various methods, including parallel mobilisation, perpendicular mobilisation, continuous pressure, and direct oscillations.
Massage
Massage helps to move the fluid and, when used carefully and delicately on injured tissue, may help to avoid adhesions. To treat tendinous lesions, a gentle dosage is given transverse to the fibres to smooth out roughened surfaces or to keep the tendon mobile inside its sheath. In order to prevent separating the healing breach, the tendon is kept taut when applied, and the muscle is typically maintained in its shortened position when treating a muscle lesion.
Scar Mobilization
A deep tissue massage releases the collagen strands and adhesions preventing you from moving freely. A deep tissue is where adhesions are disintegrated. Acupressure, trigger-pointing, and friction massage are among the massage methods used.
Myofascial Release ( MRT)
Myofascial release, a manual method that uses prolonged light pressure in particular directions into the fascia system, can be added as a complementary therapy to almost any other form of care that the patient is receiving. The fascia, a tough connective tissue with elastic, collagenous, and plastic components as well as a matrix or ground substance—normally a gelatin-like substance—is the target of the therapy. Within the fascia, cross restriction can happen for a variety of causes.
Strain Counterstrain or (PRT)
Positional release method is another name for it. It is a gentle method that moves the patient’s body passively away from painful and restricted motion directions in order to treat musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction. Or by passively moving the stiffened joints and muscles into a cosy position while concurrently relaxing the tissues.
Active Release Technique (ART)
By removing scar tissue and adhesions, manual therapy seeks to treat soft tissue restrictions, thereby reducing pain, muscle stiffness, and dysfunction. While the therapist presses or keeps contact on the injured region, the patient actively moves the muscle or ligament that is being affected. This enables the therapist to successfully treat those constrained soft tissue structures by feeling the structure move under their contact.
Manual Lymph Drainage (MLD)
It is a gentle skin stretching massage method that aids in promoting lymphatic fluid movement out of swollen limbs or reducing different kinds of edema. The methods include rotatory technique, fixed circles, scoop technique, and pump technique.
JOINT TECHNIQUES:
Joint Mobilization
The maintenance or restoration of the joint play (distraction, sliding, compression, rolling, and spinning) usually permitted by the capsule, allowing for the normal roll-slide joint mechanics to take place as a person moves. Passive traction or gliding movements applied to joint surfaces.
Joint Manipulation/Thrust/Mobilization
Utilizing physiologic or accessory motions, passive skilled manual therapy methods are applied to joints and related soft tissues at various speeds and amplitudes for therapeutic purposes.
Muscle Energy Techniques
The Muscle Energy Technique (MET) is a type of manual treatment that lengthens and relaxes muscles by using the muscle’s own energy in the form of gentle isometric contractions. Isometric contractions, which result in hypertonic, shortened muscles, are used in MET. Isotonic contractions, which result in inhibited, weakened muscles, concentric contractions, which mobilize joints against their motion barriers, and eccentric contractions, which result in isolytic contractions, which result in fibrosed muscles.
Traction
the act of dragging or drawing. A manual method called traction is intended to lessen pain by relieving pressure on the injured area.
CONDITIONS TREATED.
There are various types of injuries or problems that can be treated with manual therapy. Some of them are:
Neck Pain: Rib hypomobility, Muscle tension, Post-Surgical Neck Pain, and Disc Pathology.
Lower Back Pain: Lumbar stenosis, disc pathology, and post-surgical back pain
Mid-Back Spine or Thoracic Spine
Headaches / Migraines
Hip Pain: Hip impingement, hip bursitis, myofascial hip discomfort, and post-operative hip replacements.
Knee Pain: Complete knee replacements and tendonitis in the IT band.
Ankle Pain: Sprained ankles, persistent ankle pain, osteoarthritis, and post-surgical ankle pain
Shoulder Pain: Rotator cuff disease, frozen shoulder, impingement syndrome, and post-surgical shoulder.
Trigger points In Muscles.
Ankle pain: Sprained ankle, fused joints.
Wrist pain: wrist disorders.
Elbow pain: Golfers’ elbow and tennis elbow.
dysfunction of the temporomandibular joint
Fibromyalgia
CONTRAINDICATIONS OF MANUAL THERAPY
Although there are some conditions where care should be exercised, there are no absolute contraindications to manual therapy.
- Open wound
- Skin Infections
- Osteoporosis
- Malignancy
- Vertebral Artery
- Hypermobility
- Undiagnosed pain
- Recent fracture.
