MANUAL THERAPY
Miliotis Georgios Physiotherapy Clinic | Corfu

By the term Manual Therapy or Manipulative Therapy, we mean a specialization of Physiotherapy, during which the physiotherapist uses his hands for the evaluation and treatment of patients with neuromusculoskeletal problems.

The aim of this treatment is to find the cause of the patient's dysfunction, and not only to relieve the symptoms.
Manual Therapy nowadays also meets the term Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy and is based on scientifically proven methods of treating musculoskeletal problems (evidence based practice). These methods are the result of global research in the fields of Medicine, Physiotherapy, Biomechanics, Behavioral Sciences (eg Psychology) and all Human Sciences as a whole. In musculoskeletal problems, the Specialist Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist uses techniques that have been scientifically proven to be reliable and effective.

Clinical reasoning is the most important "tool" used by the Manual Therapist, according to which he will decide the diagnostic and then the therapeutic technique. The continuous re-evaluation will help the patient to receive the optimal treatment, not only during the first session, but also in all subsequent sessions, with the aim to completely overcome the problem.

Manual Therapy differs from classical physiotherapy. The main difference is that the electrical modalities used in classical physiotherapy have a very specific role in rehabilitation and are used to relieve painful symptoms, especially in acute conditions and to improve the healing quality of a tissue.
They do not address the cause of the impairment.

In Manual Therapy, the techniques used, examine and evaluate the movement of the joints and the extremities of the spine, the behavior of the nerve tissue in the various pathological conditions, the source of a symptom through a differential diagnosis test. For example, a knee pain may come from elsewhere, e.g. from the lumbar spine, hip, and even from the ankle, foot, or nerve tissue.

The physiotherapist, with the appropriate clinical tests, can find the real cause of the pain. He can also assess any possible muscle imbalances and their effect on the patient's problem, as well as the ability of the muscles to provide dynamic stability to the body when performing various daily or sports activities.

After subjective and objective examination and after the therapist has determined the mechanism, which is responsible for the symptom, the appropriate technique is selected, which is safe and brings the optimal result. The treatment program is completely individualized for each patient.

Techniques such as gentle mobilizations (passive and / or active), traction techniques (both spine and limbs), functional massage techniques (for muscles) or deep friction (for ligaments or tendons), manipulation techniques, neural tissue mobilization techniques, etc. are used. In modern and scientifically proven (evidence based) physiotherapy, the therapist educates the patient in a simple way about his/her problem and asks him/her to participate in the rehabilitation program. This emphasizes the need to mobilize the affected area as soon as possible and to start therapeutic exercise with special and individualized rehabilitation programs.

It is therefore of utmost importance for the patient to understand the cause of the problem and to be convinced of the mobilization of the affected area as soon as possible and the start of therapeutic exercises, even in the acute stage, under specific conditions and individualized rehabilitation programs.