What is manual therapy?

Manual therapy is the cornerstone of our hands-on approach to effective physical therapy treatment.  A Certified Functional Manual Therapists (CFMT) 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 are restricted; in joints, in connective tissues or in skeletal muscles.” All our Doctors of Physical Therapy (DPTs) 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 City of San Marino, CA. 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 or chiropractor to get “manual therapy” and treat my condition?

While we are big proponents of massage therapy and chiropractic care--and often send our patients to get regular massages and refer to/from chiropractors in our community--our physical therapists are uniquely trained to assess and evaluate not only the musculoskeletal system and injury but as well as the impact of vagus nerve, heart rate variability, dural/neural tension, and CoreFirst® Strategies for posture and motor control as examples.  Many chiropractic adjustments are passive and rotary in nature.  Our manipulations include lateral shearing and sidebending with an active contraction which can achieve similar benefits and is proven to be overall safer--for someone with osteoporosis or an autoimmune condition for example.

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, many forms of therapies are not trained or legally allowed to prescribe.

Again, we love massage therapy and chiropractic and are regular clients of great massage therapists and chiropractic here in town.  The benefit and service we provide are from professionals who can evaluate and treat an injury in an extremely detailed manner, picking up on minutia that are often overlooked in tangible ways.


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.