Pain and injuries come in many forms that can limit your ability to live your daily life to its fullest. When you have pain and injuries, you need all the help you can get for recovery. In many cases, people can visit physical therapists for help recovering from pain and injuries.
Physical therapists have many methods at their disposal for helping treat pain and injuries. What they use on you depends on the cause and severity of your pain, but in many cases, physical therapists use manual therapy as part of a personalized treatment routine.
What is manual therapy?
Manual therapy is a series of hands-on techniques that your physical therapist can use to help reduce pain and improve your range of motion. Some examples of manual therapy include soft tissue mobilization, joint mobilization and strain/counterstrain techniques.
Your physical therapist can examine your condition and determine which manual therapy methods are the safest and most helpful for you.
Four benefits of manual therapy for pain and injuries
- Manual therapy helps improve your range of motion — Tension and weakness in your muscles and soft tissue increases strain on your joints that causes pain and makes it difficult to move the joints. Soft tissue mobilization and joint mobilization helps to improve the strength and flexibility of your soft tissue and joints so you can move more freely.
- Manual therapy helps break down scar tissue — Scar tissue is tough, fibrous tissue that builds up on your muscles after an injury. This tough tissue can be painful and limit your range of motion. Soft tissue mobilization can help break down scar tissue to reduce pain and improve your range of motion.
- Manual therapy helps reduce your dependency on pain medication — Many people turn to pain medications when dealing with chronic muscle and soft tissue pain. However, medications can cause unwanted side effects and can be addictive. Manual therapy helps reduce your pain so you don’t need to rely on drugs.
- Manual therapy helps reduce your chances of needing surgery — If certain conditions progress far enough without treatment, surgery might be necessary for treatment. However, surgery is painful, expensive and risky. Manual therapy can help reduce the chances of you needing surgery for treatment.
Visit SOL today for pain and injury treatment
Are you suffering from long-lasting or intense muscle or joint pain? Our physical therapists at SOL can help. We can examine your condition and provide manual therapy and other treatments that can help you recover from your pain. Contact our team today for more information about treating pain and injuries or to schedule an initial appointment.
