Manual Therapy
Manual therapy is hands-on physical therapy: a clinician uses their hands to move stiff joints and loosen tight muscle and soft tissue. Our physical therapists in Laguna Niguel use manual therapy together with therapeutic exercise and movement re-education, because hands-on care works best as one part of a plan.
The techniques behind manual physical therapy
Orthopedic manual therapy is a group of techniques. Your physical therapist chooses the ones that fit your problem.
Joint mobilization
Slow, controlled stretching of a stiff joint and the tissue around it, done to improve how the joint moves.
Soft tissue mobilization
Hands-on work on muscle and the tissue around it, aimed at a specific area and goal. It loosens tight tissue and reduces pain.
Muscle energy technique
You gently push against your therapist’s resistance, then relax, which helps tight muscle and stiff joints let go.
Spinal manipulation and joint manipulation
A quick, small movement of a joint. Some people hear a pop. A manipulation can work with or without a sound, and it is used only when your exam supports it.
What manual therapy feels like
Joint mobilization and soft tissue work usually feel like firm pressure and stretching in the area being treated. You may feel looser straight away, and some people are a little sore the next day.
Tell your therapist what you feel as it happens. Pressure and technique can change at any point, and you stay in charge.
Why hands-on care comes with exercise
Part of a plan
Manual therapy eases stiffness and pain so you can move. It sits alongside the exercise and re-education that make the change last.
Therapeutic exercise
Strength and mobility work chosen for your problem, with the load raised as you improve.
Movement re-education
We teach your body the better pattern, so the problem is less likely to return.
Questions about manual therapy
Is spinal manipulation safe?
Spinal manipulation is a quick, small movement of a joint. Your therapist uses it only when your exam supports it, and checks first for reasons not to.
Manual therapy care in Laguna Niguel, California
LOR Physical Therapy treats manual therapy at our Laguna Niguel clinic, 31271 Niguel Road, Suite J, for patients across South Orange County.
Whether your insurance plan needs a referral differs from plan to plan: call the number on your insurance card to check, or call us before your first visit and we will help you find out.
Meet the people who treat you on our team page.