Services
Manual Therapy
Manual Therapy Services in Austin, TX
What is manual therapy?
Manual therapy is the cornerstone of our hands-on approach to effective physical therapy treatment. Skilled manual therapists can make immediate improvements to your range of motion and reduce your pain. As a result, their treatments can also create an opportunity for greater mobility, strength gains, and healing response.
Definition of Manual Therapy: The “application of an accurately determined and specifically directed manual force to the body, in order to improve mobility in areas that are restricted; in joints, in connective tissues or in skeletal muscles.” All our therapists have manual therapy certifications, extensive training in the nuances of its application, and years of experience in successful patient care and providing tangible treatment results!
How much manual therapy will my condition require?
There is a correlation between the of amount of hands-on manual therapy you will need and the amount of time you have had an injury or pain. The more acute/recent the problem, the quicker we tend to see positive results. Acute injuries can often be resolved in just a few visits to our clinic in central Austin. However, more serious or chronic injuries will usually take somewhat longer to effectively treat.
Factors such as age, overall health, and lifestyle definitely also play a role in how much treatment is needed to get you back to doing what you love. With that said, we do occasionally see major changes quite quickly, even if a problem has persisted for many years. It really depends on many things, which we can identify and more clearly determine at your initial evaluation or in a FREE on-site “Discovery Session.”.
Take-home point: For most people, the sooner you decide to pursue manual therapy treatments, the fewer treatment sessions you will likely need.
Why shouldn’t I just go to a massage therapist to get “manual therapy” and treat my condition?
While we are big proponents of massage therapy and often send our patients to get regular massage, physical therapists are uniquely trained to assess and evaluate the musculoskeletal system and injury. Hands-on techniques are often not very effective (and can even be damaging) if they are not guided by skilled evaluation and diagnosis that massage therapists are not trained to complete, and in fact, legally unable to perform.
From our in-depth evaluation and constant re-assessments at every visit, our manual therapy techniques are not simply aimed at working on an area that hurts, but also directed at resolving the true sources of your pain and injury. Additionally, most injuries and pain need some form of exercise-based treatment, which again, massage therapists are not trained or legally allowed to prescribe.
Again, we love massage therapy and are regular clients of great massage therapists here in town, but when we’re injured, we stick with professionals who can fully evaluate and treat the entirety of the injury.
Will I be sore following manual therapy?
It is not uncommon to have some soreness following treatment, and this is nothing to worry about if it happens. This usually subsides within 24-48 hours. If it persists beyond 48 hours, please let us know so we can adjust our future treatments to match your body’s receptivity to hands-on treatment.
What our patients have to say…
