According to the Health Policy Institute at Georgetown University, over 16 million adults in the United States suffer from persistent or chronic back pain. The back is a complicated structure of bones, joints, ligaments and muscles. While back pain can often be caused by injuries or accidents, sometimes even the simple movement of bending down to pick up laundry can result in back pain. 

Thankfully, many common causes of back pain can be treated using manual physical therapy techniques. During manual therapy, a physical therapist stimulates the soft tissue of the body using their hands or special instruments. By applying pressure and manipulating the tissue, manual therapy helps to relieve pain and loosen muscles that are tense and tight.

What are the benefits of manual therapy techniques?

Aside from immediate pain relief, there are many benefits that back pain sufferers can gain from manual physical therapy. Here are three perks that you can experience from manual therapy:

1. Improved mobility — Manual therapy may help you to regain your full mobility after an accident or injury. Scar tissue can build up on the muscles and ligaments of the back after an injury. Manual therapy helps to break up scar tissue under the skin that might be limiting your flexibility and mobility.

2. Increased circulation — One of the perks of manual therapy is an increase of circulation in the treated area. Many times, our blood vessels can become constricted in areas of the body that are under too much pressure, such as a tight back muscle. Manual therapy helps to increase blood flow to an affected area, which helps to reduce pain.

3. Stress relief — Many patients find that manual therapy techniques are very relaxing. The increased circulation and immediate pain relief can also contribute to feelings of reduced stress.

Where can I access manual therapy near me?

Manual therapy techniques are just one of the many ways that we treat pain at Franklin Rehabilitation. Our licensed physical therapy specialists can get you started with a free screening to help determine the source of your pain. From there, we can work to determine the best treatment methods for your individual needs.

We can utilize manual therapy as well and other proven techniques to treat a wide array of conditions, including:

• Back and neck pain.

• Shoulder pain.

• Post-surgical rehabilitation.

• COVID-19 recovery.

Contact our team today for more information or to schedule an initial appointment.