Why Is Manual Therapy?
Manual therapy treatment approach in physiotherapy place an emphasis on applying biomechanical principles to examine and treat peripheral and spinal joint disorders. In manual therapy, joint motion is analyzed with active and passive motion testing while the physiotherapist visualizes the spinal mechanics. The physiotherapist applies passive forces with passive accessory intervertebral motion testing and mobilization/manipulation techniques, along planes of movement parallel or perpendicular to the anatomic planes of the joint surfaces. At Cogent Rehab, our physiotherapists in Burlington have extensive knowledge of spinal anatomy and biomechanics to ensure our manual therapy approach is effective for the examination and treatment of the spine and peripheral joints.
Why Is Manual Therapy Important In Physiotherapy?
Since the inception of physiotherapy, physiotherapists have included within their tool kit of clinical practice joint manipulation and mobilization techniques. Initially as massage and therapeutic exercise practitioners, later as reconstruction aides and medically-trained technicians, and now as autonomous professionals with direct patient access, physiotherapy has always included the use of skilled passive movement as an important strategy for the treatment of movement restrictions.
How Does Manual Therapy Work?
Orthopaedic manual physiotherapists use a process of clinical reasoning that includes continued patient assessment, followed by application of a trail of manual therapy treatment or exercise, followed by further reassessment of the patient’s response to the treatment. This intimate relationship between examination, treatment, and reexamination provides useful clinical data for sound judgments regarding the patient’s response to treatment and the need to either modify, progress, or maintain the applied treatment techniques.
Manual therapy is not a passive approach since both the patient and physiotherapist are both actively engaged in a developing a therapeutic relationship to work toward reducing pain and restoring active functional movements by the end of each treatment session. There is so much evidence to support the fact that the reduction of pain and restoration of motion during treatment sessions translates into favorable improvements when patients are up and about doing their daily activities and ultimately lead to long-term positive clinical outcomes when manual therapy is included as part of a comprehensive physiotherapy treatment plan.
Do I Need To Pay For Manual Therapy Treatment?
No, manual therapy is included as part of your comprehensive physiotherapy treatment plan as determined by your physiotherapist. Following your initial assessment, the physiotherapist would discuss the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment plan with you and let you know if and why manual therapy would be beneficial to you.
What Conditions Can Be Managed With Manual Therapy?
Manual therapy can be included as part of an evidence-based approach to the management of several orthopaedic conditions affecting several joints in the body including the shoulder, elbow and forearm, wrist and hand, hip, knee, ankle and foot, cervical spine and temporomandibular joint, thoracic spine and costal age and lumbopelvic spine.