Manual Therapy Experts in Edmonton!
Manual Physical Therapy in Edmonton
Manual therapy is an umbrella term for a hands-on approach to managing neuromusculoskeletal conditions. Manual therapy aims to improve range of motion, reduce pain and inflammation, assist in optimal tissue repair, and restore optimal movement and function. Skilled clinicians use various techniques on joints and soft tissues to achieve these goals.
Please call our team of skilled therapists to book your manual therapy appointment!
780 481-2293
Detailed Manual Therapy Overview
What is Manual therapy?
Clinicians use skilled treatment techniques aimed at optimizing mobility in the body. Treatment techniques include joint mobilization and manipulation, manual traction, soft tissue mobilization, muscle energy techniques, massage, and stretching.
- Increases the passive range of motion
- Restores normal joint mobility
- Facilitates functional movement
- Modulates pain
- Reduces inflammation/swelling
- Increases circulation
- Facilitates repair and tissue remodelling
- Builds trust between client and therapist
- Induces relaxation
- Reduces adhesions from scars
Joint Mobilization / Manipulation
Physiotherapists use a hands-on approach to evaluate, diagnose, and treat joints. Joint mobilizations are slow, graded amplitude movements that twist, pull, or push bones and joints in a direction. These movements help loosen tight tissues around a joint, help with alignment, and reduce pain in the joints and tissues surrounding it. Some skilled clinicians use joint manipulations, which are quick but small thrusts to provide pain relief and improved mobility. Often you may hear a “click” or “pop” with joint manipulation. Joint mobilizations and manipulations restore optimal motion within a joint.
Soft tissue mobilization
Soft tissue mobilization is a variety of techniques, including deep, transverse frictions, instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization, scar massage. These techniques aim to break up adhesions in tissues, promote circulation, and ease the pain.
Massage
Kneading and therapeutically applying pressure to muscles to relax tension, ease pain, promote circulation.
Trigger Point Release
Applies pressure to hyperirritable nodules in the muscles, referred to as “knots,” to release tension in the muscle.
Passive Stretching and Muscle Energy Techniques
These techniques include assisted stretching of muscles and tendons to increase flexibility and extensibility of those tissues. In addition, therapists may use a “contract-relax” technique to help increase the extensibility even more.
Manual Traction
Manual traction is a technique where the therapist aims to create space within a joint and stretch the structures surrounding it.
Physiotherapists use these varieties of manual therapy techniques in conjunction with education and exercise to restore optimal motion, function and reduce pain.
