Orthopedic Manual Therapy
Orthopedic Manual Therapy
What is Orthopedic Manual Therapy?
Manual therapy is a primary modality of physical therapy. It is a skilled application of hands-on techniques by skilled clinicians to manipulate soft tissue, joints, and nerves. Manual therapy is important for multiple body systems, because hands-on manipulation can be very effective to decrease pain and tissue tension, improve quality of movement, and guide a patient through their exercises.
The International Federation of Orthopaedic Manipulative Physical Therapists (IFOMPT) defines orthopaedic manual physical therapy as: "a specialised area of physiotherapy/physical therapy for the management of neuro-musculoskeletal conditions, based on clinical reasoning, using highly specific treatment approaches including manual techniques and therapeutic exercises. Orthopaedic manual therapy also encompasses, and is driven by, the available scientific and clinical evidence and the biopsychosocial framework of each individual patient.”
Biological Effects and Benefits of Orthopedic Manual Therapy:
- Increase Joint Mobility
- Break up Adhesions
- Increase Blood Flow
- Increase Nutrition to Cartilage
- Pain Relief
- Reduce Inflammation
- Improved Range of Motion
- Prevent Surgery
- Prevent Contractures
What can Orthopedic Manual Therapy Treat:
- Joint Pains
- Low Back Pain
- Tendinopathies
- Arthritis
- Bursitis
- Plantar Fasciitis
- Rotator Cuff Issue
- Bone Fractures
- Myofascial Pain Syndrome
- Trigger Points
- Tennis/Golfers Elbow
How does it work?
Before initiating any manual therapy (or other physical therapy) techniques, the therapist will typically perform a complete assessment of the patient’s bones, muscles, and blood and nerve supply to ensure further complications will not occur. Depending on assessment results, the physical therapist may choose to perform techniques including, but not limited to, the variety discussed below.- Soft Tissue Mobilization: Soft tissue mobilization is often utilized to break up fibrous muscle tissue and relax muscle tension. For example, a therapist may perform soft tissue mobilization around scar tissue buildup resulting from a back injury. The technique itself consists of repeated stretching and pressure around the target musculature.
- Joint Mobilization: Joint mobilization is implemented to loosen a restricted joint and increase the range of motion. The painless technique involves slowing providing speed and distance of motion into the barrier of the target joint. Joint mobilization often provides lasting relief from muscle pain that both rest and icing temporarily ease, because the root of the issue is in the joint itself.
- Strain-Counterstrain: This technique corrects structural and postural issues, stemming from abnormal neuromuscular reflexes. Performing the technique is extremely gentle. Thus, therapists may prefer this technique in place of other procedures too painful to treat acute or delicate back problems.
- Muscle Energy Techniques (METs): METs utilize voluntary contraction of the muscle against a counterforce to mobilize joints and lengthen shortened muscles.
Let’s say you are having stiffness in your hip. During your sessions in the clinic, your Doctor of Physical Therapy may employ manual therapy techniques like joint and soft tissue mobilization and/or massage to improve your range of motion and decrease stiffness and discomfort when you walk.
Your Doctor of Physical Therapy will assign exercises and stretches that you can complete independently, but manual therapy techniques applied by a skilled Doctor of Physical Therapy can take your treatment to the next level. Unfortunately, not every physical therapist will use manual therapy, or will be train in manual therapy, in your treatment – application depends on your sensitivity, your stage in the healing process, and the potential benefits of the technique.
Note from the Cleveland Clinic
Manual Therapy treatments are appropriate and play an important role to prevent other problems or comorbidities, improving the patient’s overall quality of life.
Current Research
- High quality evidence suggests greater short-term pain relief when compared to doing exercise alone for someone experience neck pain.
- One study shows that there is moderate-quality evidence that Orthopedic Manual Therapy are likely to reduce pain and improve function for patients with chronic low back pain
- This study shows that Orthopedic Manual therapy appears to increase either active or passive mobility of the shoulder. A trend was found favoring manual therapy for decreasing pain.
- Another study showed that when comparing stabilizations exercises to orthopedic manual therapy, the orthopedic manual therapy group showed greater improvements than did the shoulder stabilization exercise group for reducing shoulder pain.
- The available studies indicated that Orthopedic Manual Therapy can induce a short-term reduction in pain and an increase in knee range of motion and functionality in patients with knee osteoarthritis.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Depending on which treatment under Manual Therapy your doctor performs, it can be uncomfortable at times, but for the most part it is painless and can actually even be relieving.
Orthopedic Manual Therapy treatments can last anywhere from 30 minutes to one hour.
You can expect some general soreness following the treatment, which can typically last anywhere from 2-4 days.
We recommend staying hydrate post treatment, which can aid in your recovery if you are feeling any soreness.
Please read above for a detailed description as to what Orthopedic Manual therapy does.
Generally a fairly safe treatment as your Doctor will be controlling and going to your tolerance with the treatment.
This is something that will be covered under insurance as part of your treatment, should your doctor deem it necessary to treat you.
All treatments will be performed by an expert Doctor of Physical Therapy who has gone through extensive training.
Number of Sessions will be determined upon Initial Evaluation. Depending on severity of the patients condition, which will determine how many sessions. The Doctor of Physical Therapy will come up with a plan of care tailored to the patients benefit to promote optimal and rapid recovery.
Depending on which treatments the Doctor will be performing, sessions can last about an hour of Advanced Hands on Orthopedic Physical Therapy.
MVP Physio Dr. is located at 1645 Forest Hill Rd, Suite 105, Macon, GA 31210.
Fill out the Contact Form, located at the bottom of this page or you may contact our office directly at (478) 960-7077.
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