Patients with lower back, mid-back, buttock, neck pain or numbness in any extremities, should see a physical therapist for an evaluation. The evaluation will tell the therapist if the patient is a good candidate for manual therapy, spinal stabilization and adjustments.
Manual therapy is done by physical therapists who have gone through specialized training in hands-on therapy treatments. Manual therapy treatments of the spine and extremities will focus on the problems of the spine and extremities only. Manual therapy includes pushing and moving your joints, massage, physical therapy and exercise to relieve pressure points on joints.
Many physicians believe that some diseases are caused by bones and muscles that are displaced and interfering with the body’s normal circulatory system. The body’s imbalances can be restored with manual spinal manipulation therapy. The physical therapist, with hands on control, force a specific joint back into place slowly.
Many patients will gain relief with a hands on manual therapy that can last for several weeks. Spinal manipulation can ease chronic and acute low back pain. Physical therapists will use extremity and spinal manipulation for the treatment of dysfunctional joints and lower spinal muscle pain. These manipulations will help to restore the mobility in a patient’s body.
Spinal stabilization and adjustments are done by physical therapists who realign your tailbone or pelvis bones. They rotate the position of the vertebral segments to give the patient relief from pain. This hands-on technique is done only after the patient has had a complete evaluation, so the therapist knows where the misalignments are occurring.
Once the adjustment is done, and the spine is stabilized, the patient will need to do proper exercises. The physical therapists will go through strengthening exercises designed to meet the needs of the patient. The spine becomes stabilized when the abdominal muscles and the back are aligned properly.
Patients who have adjustments and do not do the strengthening exercises, will lose the value of the adjustment and the pain will return. For proper alignment, the muscles must be stabilized first, an adjustment needs to be performed by the therapist and the patient must continue to do exercises. Patients can achieve long lasting pain relief with strengthening exercises.
Patients who only have a spinal adjustment will experience only short-term pain relief. There are many different types of treatments that a therapist can perform. Depending on each patient’s circumstances, a therapists will perform and teach the patient, each exercise to be done at home