Manual therapy can be helpful for the treatment of joints that lack adequate mobility and range of motion in certain musculo-skeletal conditions  This limitation can cause discomfort, pain, and an alteration in function, posture, and movement.  Manual physical therapy involves restoring mobility to stiff joints and reducing muscle tension in order to return the patient to more natural movement without pain.

Your treatment plan will likely include several different therapies, all aimed at helping a specific function of your body. Some exercises may focus on improving your balance and strength, while others may focus on increasing your range of motion. Manual therapy is a crucial part of any treatment plan, as it helps to reduce pain and swelling, minimize inflammation, and increase range of motion.

One of the greatest aspects of manual therapy is that it is non-invasive. It also doesn’t require any harmful medications. Instead, our physiotherapists use a variety of techniques that help move your tendons, ligaments, and joints in ways that relieve pain and promote healing. They also help in reducing scar tissue and minimizing swelling.

As a group, manual physical therapy techniques are aimed at relaxing tense muscles and restricted joints in order to decrease pain and increase flexibility.  In general, manual physical therapy techniques employ the following types of movement:

This includes massage, which applies pressure to the soft tissues of the body such as the muscles.  This pressure can help relax muscles, increase circulation, break up scar tissue, and ease pain in the soft tissues.

This uses measured movements of varying speed (slow to fast), force (gentle to forceful), and distances (called 'amplitude') to twist, pull, or push bones and joints into position.  This can help loosen tight tissues around a joint, reduce pain in a joint and surrounding tissue, and help with flexibility and alignment.