Manual Physical Therapy

Providing individualized, hands-on care

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Manual Physical Therapy: Quick Facts

  • Manual physical therapy is a hands-on treatment approach in which a physical therapist uses specialized techniques to improve joint mobility, reduce pain, relieve muscle tension, and restore normal movement without relying on machines or equipment.
  • Common manual therapy techniques include joint mobilization, soft tissue mobilization, myofascial release, stretching, and manual manipulation. These treatments are often combined with therapeutic exercise for the best long-term results.
  • Manual physical therapy is commonly used to treat neck and back pain, joint stiffness, muscle strains, sports injuries, arthritis, headaches, and many spine and orthopedic conditions that limit mobility or cause pain.
  • Each treatment plan is individualized based on a comprehensive evaluation of the patient’s symptoms, mobility, strength, posture, and movement patterns to identify the underlying cause of pain or dysfunction.
  • In addition to reducing pain, manual physical therapy can improve flexibility, restore joint motion, decrease muscle spasms, enhance circulation, and help patients return to daily activities and sports more safely.
  • Manual physical therapy is often used as part of a comprehensive rehabilitation program alongside therapeutic exercise, patient education, and other nonsurgical treatments to improve function and support long-term recovery.

Our physical therapists in Reston work one-on-one with each patient to maximize healing and functional movement. Your physical therapy experience begins with a comprehensive and thorough evaluation – not just where your pain is located, but also in adjacent areas that may be contributing to your symptoms. 

Our physical therapists are experts at finding the source of your symptoms and working with you to develop a plan to resolve them. Your care will be customized to your needs at every visit – using a combination of hands-on therapy techniques, targeted therapeutic exercise, and education to help you feel and perform your best. We listen to your goals and put a plan in place to help you achieve them!

Techniques

Manual Therapy is a cornerstone in the treatment we provide to our patients. The proper and effective delivery of manual therapy is a highly perfected skill that our team of experts is trained in. Manual Therapy helps our therapists get to the the root of your symptoms quickly so you can start rehabilitating your injury.

Active Release Technique (ART) is a soft tissue system/movement based massage technique that treats problems with muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia, and nerves. The goal of ART as a form of physical therapy treatment, is to restore optimal motion and function of the soft tissue by releasing muscular restrictions and release any entrapped nerves or blood vessels in over-used muscles.

Joint mobilization and manipulation have been proven to inhibit muscular tension through reflexes between the spinal cord, muscle spindles, and golgi tendon organs. If your symptoms limit your mobility, varying grades of joint mobilization are used by physical therapists depending on the acuteness or chronicity of restriction, irritability of the joint, or type of joint dysfunction.

Myofascial release is a manual soft tissue therapy used to treat pain and improve range of motion. The restricted tissues are manipulated to promote normal sliding and gliding movements of muscles and fascia. Relaxing restricted tissues promotes increased circulation and allows stimulation of the muscles and fascia.

Soft Tissue Mobilization includes manual therapy techniques that are designed to relieve pain derived from muscle, tendons, and ligaments. Such techniques are tailored to our patients specific needs and may include myofascial release, massage techniques, deep tissue strumming and broadening, strain and counterstrain or active release techniques. It is one of the most commonly utilized interventions in physical therapy clinics.

The strain and counterstrain approach to physical therapy treatment is an effective intervention choice for acute soft tissue dysfunction because it is gentle, atraumatic, and can be used without contraindications. When using strain and counterstrain, the patients’ body is moved slowly in non-painful directions until the therapist identifies positions of decreased muscular tension, reported relief, and palpable trigger points.

Traction is a treatment technique often used by a physical therapist to reduce/relieve pressure of joints. It is most commonly used to relieve pressure on the spine for lower back pain and neck pain. Spinal traction can be performed either manually or mechanically. It is used to treat herniated discs, degenerative disc disease and compressed nerves by “stretching” the spine, taking pressure off overly compressed intervertebral discs by reversing the effects of gravity on the body. By eliminating painful pressure the body is able to improve its ability to heal itself.

spine specialized physical therapy

Discover the Benefits of VSI Physical Therapy

We redefine physical therapy through several defining principles: 

  • We do not compromise when it comes to delivering the best physical therapy experience to our patients.
  • We provide the highest-quality physical therapy treatments in the best treatment model possible with one-on-one sessions lasting 60-minutes. 
  • Physical Therapists that are the best in the region. Our providers are passionate about delivering the most cutting-edge and innovative therapeutic treatments possible by using a combination of hands-on manual therapy techniques and targeted exercise tailored to your needs.
  • State-of-art facility and the best equipment available to assist in your recovery.
  • Customized treatment, including on-site aquatic therapy, massage therapy, personal training, and nutritional counseling as an adjunct to your care.
  • We are fully committed to guiding you through your Physical Therapy and Wellness Programs to help rehabilitate your injury, get you back doing the things you love to do, and improve your life.

Frequently Asked Questions about Manual Therapy

Manual therapy is used for almost all of our patients and can be used for treatment for a variety of orthopedic and spinal conditions, injuries and rehabilitation. Whether you are overcoming a sports injury, recovering after surgery, or are looking to resolve that nagging pain, we’ll create the right plan for you!

See if you would benefit from the healing effects of Manual Therapy

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