Manual Therapy Can Alleviate Pain and Help You Heal
Have you been dealing with persistent pain or struggling to recover from an injury? Did you know that manual therapy not only helps alleviate your pain but can also help you recover faster? At Comber Physical Therapy in Williamsburg, our physical therapists believe in a hands-on approach to care and will help you feel your best and function at your highest potential!
Some people think that pain is to be expected and believe the only way to find relief is by using medication. Drugs are not designed to treat the underlying physical issues that may be causing your pain. Although medication can limit pain, the relief is temporary.
Fortunately, physical therapy at Comber Physical Therapy can give you solutions that reduce your pain while simultaneously improving your overall function and well-being. Our physical therapists understand the power of targeted manual therapy techniques to help kickstart your recovery and ensure your joints and tissues are loose, limber, and ready to move.
Request an appointment at Comber Physical Therapy in Williamsburg today and learn more about how manual therapy techniques can help you find relief and get back to doing what you love!
What is manual therapy?
Traditional massage is often considered a relaxation-type treatment used in a spa. These massages are often full-body rather than a targeted technique focusing on a specific body area. In comparison, manual therapy techniques focus on the cause of particular pain or bodily restrictions.
Muscles can become tight from injury, repetitive movements, or prolonged positions (postures). Your joint and tissue mobility of the affected area becomes restricted, leading to pain or dysfunctional movement patterns.
Soft tissue restrictions are often called adhesions and are thought to be precursors to scar tissue that makes movements difficult and painful. Similarly, joint mobility can become restricted due to adhesions in the soft tissues surrounding the joint or an injury to the joint itself.
Various manual therapy techniques help free up (release) these restrictions and facilitate movement and thereby alleviating pain and/or feeling of tightness. Therapeutic massage techniques used by your Williamsburg physical therapists include:
- Joint mobilizations and manipulations
- Myofascial release
- Trigger point release
- Active release
- Passive or active assisted range of motion
- Instrument-assisted techniques (i.e., Graston technique)
The main benefits of manual therapy include the following:
Improved mobility: Targeted manual therapy, including joint mobilizations and myofascial release, can help your joint range of motion and soft tissue mobility before and after exercise, which helps improve your overall physical performance.
Free up restrictions and adhesions: Adhesions are thickened bands of tissue that, if left untreated, can develop into tough scar tissue around the injury, resulting in restricted movement, pain, and delayed recovery.
Targeted manual therapy techniques help to free up adhesions that start to form from an injury and overuse/repetitive stress-type injuries.
Increased blood circulation: Blood flow is the foundation of healing. Therapeutic massage increases blood circulation, which helps reduce swelling and facilitates the healing process.
Less muscle soreness after training or therapy: Therapeutic massage effectively improves circulation and alleviates muscle soreness after a therapy session or intense workout. Regular therapeutic massage keeps tissues mobile and free of tension.
Improve your immune system: Your body’s immune system (aka your natural defenses) is stimulated by a therapeutic massage. This means you will be better equipped to ward off hazardous bacteria, germs, and illnesses. As a result, you’ll be sick less frequently.
At Comber Physical Therapy, our physical therapist uses manual therapy to help keep our patient’s muscles, and joints working at their highest potential and keep your body healthy and pain-free!
What to expect at Comber Physical Therapy’s sessions
Dealing with pain or an injury can be mentally and physically exhausting. The key to a quick recovery is to see one of our physical therapists for a comprehensive evaluation. Our therapists will conduct a thorough hands-on assessment to identify all the factors influencing your situation.
This means we’ll assess your muscles, joints, and nervous system and conduct a thorough history to learn more about your pain, injuries, and overall health.
We will use the information gathered to design a treatment program with targeted manual techniques and specific mobility work. We will also educate you on the most effective exercises and postures to complement our hands-on interventions.
Our goals are to help reduce pain quickly through manual therapy techniques, including myofascial release, trigger point releases, and other joint mobilizations and therapeutic massage. We typically combine these manual techniques with stretches, postural education, and any modality to relieve pain.
As you progress, our exercises will typically shift to strengthening exercises and work on balance, coordination, or gait to ensure you are ready to tolerate the demands of an active lifestyle. We have proven results that help minimize the use of medication or surgery and eliminate pain with a hands-on approach to care.
Our skilled therapists at Comber Physical Therapy in Williamsburg will keep your body functioning at its highest potential!
Request an appointment today!
If you’re looking for the most effective solutions for your pain or injury, our physical therapy team at Comber Physical Therapy in Williamsburg can help!
Call today to request an appointment and learn more about how therapeutic massage and targeted manual therapy techniques can help you find relief and get back to doing what you love!
Sources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8360410/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7310163/
Tags: physical therapy, manual therapy, Pain Relief, Comber Physical Therapy, Joint pain relief
