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Manual Therapy

Back and neck pain has become an epidemic in our society. Billions of dollars are spent every year to find solutions to this problem. Every day, everything is tried, from sipping aspirin to taking major narcotics to have surgery to solve the problem of neck and back pain.


Sometimes new inventions are better than old ones. I prefer my iPhone 6 to the old flip phone I only had 10 years ago. But sometimes the best answer to a problem is a millennium old.


Enter manual therapy.


We have records of various types of manual therapy being practiced as far back as 2500 years ago in Greece. In fact, by the time of Hippocrates, manual therapy was a treatment used for many different ailments. There are also records of a type of Chinese MT called Tuli nap Tue nan that is still performed today.


So what is modern manual therapy and who does it?


Manual therapy is a clinical approach to the treatment of pain and dysfunction affecting the soft tissues of the musculoskeletal system. The soft tissues of the musculoskeletal system include muscles, ligaments, tendons, blood vessels, and nerves.


Manual therapy includes both a diagnostic element and a therapeutic element and involves the manipulation, mobilization, and stretching of various tissues involved in positive tissue change. During the treatment, the doctor will place his hand on a part of your body and feel tension, crepitus (cracking), nodules, or stiffness in the soft tissues. Next, he will perform a technique to change the texture of the soft tissue and improve the ability of the affected joints to move. This technique usually involves some type of pressure being applied to your soft tissues and some type of stretching of your joints. Manual therapy is generally very comfortable and pleasant to receive.


Pain caused by movement of any joint of the body

Stiff muscles

Soft tissue inflammation and congestion

Stiff and painful joints

Difficulty moving any part of the body

Muscle pain

Manual therapy is also useful for inducing relaxation, which can have many health benefits, as excessive stress is implicated in most chronic illnesses.


So what modern doctor performs this type of therapy?


The "trick," if you will, is to match the correct technique or techniques to the patient to achieve the best possible outcome.


It is important for the patient to feel comfortable that your doctor understands what he is doing and that he cares about you getting better.

 

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