What Are The Benefits of Manual Therapy for Posture and Movement?

Benefits of Manual Therapy

Manual therapy is a hands-on technique used to address muscle and soft tissue pain, joint discomfort, posture, and to aid in healthy movement during a course of care.

What is manual therapy?

Specific methods used to manage musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction are used in manual therapy and can help to deliver a variety of benefits. Techniques of manual therapy aim to restore fluid mobility to the affected joint or soft tissue with an emphasis on improved overall movement.

In order to help a patient, regain mobility, enhance muscle function, relieve pain, and improve movement performance, physical therapists and hand therapists implement manual therapy. Professional methods such as soft tissue massage, joint mobilization and manipulation, lymphatic drainage, and passive and assisted functional movement are used in manual therapy.

The advantages of manual therapy refer to the characteristics of physical contact and interaction with a patient that leads to recovery, beyond professional care. Manual therapy combined with exercise that restores and elevates healthy movement is the most productive way to enhance the quality of life of a patient in an outpatient physical therapy environment.

How does manual therapy benefit patients?

Manual therapy is adapted to the individual condition of every patient, making it a very customized type of care. Based on a thorough review of the condition of a patient, manual therapy is integrated according to the particular needs of their body into the treatment plan.

Physical therapists and hand therapists use several methods while caring for patients, and each method is uniquely helpful. For example, massage can reduce inflammation depending on the patient and condition, improve muscle flexibility and mobility, and increase fascial adhesive mobility between soft tissues, or provide muscle extensibility. Likewise, joint mobilization and manipulation modulate pain and enhances mobility. Manual therapy is used to restore function to the treated region and whole body in combination with physical activity.

It allows a mixture of art and science to help the patient since manual therapy is very hands-on. The use of a range of techniques helps each patient to achieve successful patterns of movement and progress towards their individual health objectives.