Manual therapy is a complex of manipulative techniques performed with the hands on different tissues of the human body. The name of this type of treatment comes from the Latin word "manus", which means "hand," and the Greek word "therapeia", which means "therapy." This method of treatment originated in India and the Mediterranean and was closely associated with traditional medicine for a long time.
The first manual therapist was an ancient hunter who, after a fight with a wild animal, intuitively used hand manipulations to restore his own health. As it turned out later, hand movements in the area of the affected area restore blood flow and lymphatic drainage, which helps to eliminate waste products, improve tissue nutrition, and relieve pain.
The development of the method in medicine was facilitated by the establishment of the International Federation of Manual Therapy in 1962.
The predecessor of this branch of medicine can be considered to be bone-setting, which was mainly aimed at repositioning bones. Today, the scope of manual therapy has significantly expanded, also encompassing muscles, soft tissues, subcutaneous adipose tissue, skin, and more.
In recent years, manual therapy has been officially recognized and applied in gynecology, urology, and andrology. And the results have exceeded all expectations, as the effectiveness of treating diseases compared to pharmacotherapy has increased by 80%.
The main indications for manual therapy are a functional block of the movement segment in a pathologically altered section of the spine or joint. In a healthy state, all structures of the segment function in coordination. When joints are blocked, their surfaces lose the ability to move relative to each other, and the so-called "joint play" disappears. Adjacent muscles tense up, tissues are compressed, and painful sensations arise. Therefore, the focus is primarily on removing this block.
In the first stage, the doctor uses techniques that promote muscle relaxation. Then, they influence the spine to increase its mobility (mobilization). Finally, they perform the manipulation itself, the type of which will depend on the localization of the block.
The doctor employs all the main contemporary methods of manual therapy, including:
Myofascial therapy
This method focuses on identifying areas of densification and scarring in the affected parts of the body. The manual therapist gently eliminates these pathological changes, resulting in the elimination of unpleasant sensations associated with their appearance - pain subsides, stiffness disappears, posture and body symmetry are restored.
Visceral therapy
This is a therapeutic influence on internal organs after assessing the tone of their surrounding muscles. As a result, the condition improves, the efficiency of the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, intestines, and reproductive organs is restored.
Cranial therapy
The doctor works with the skull and neck muscles to solve problems such as headaches, dizziness, and increased intracranial pressure.
Arthro-vertebral therapy
This method can restore the function of affected joints. It is a fairly rigid method and is only performed with the patient's consent. However, as a result of its use, the function of the spinal disc apparatus is fully restored, compression of nerve roots is relieved, and spasm and pain are eliminated.