Manual therapy

Manual therapy, or manipulative therapy, is a physical treatment primarily used by physical therapists, physiotherapists to treat musculoskeletal pain and disability; it most includes kneading and manipulation of muscles, joint mobilization and joint manipulation. It's also used by occupational therapists, chiropractors, massage therapists, athletic trainers, osteopaths, and physicians Manual therapy, or manipulative therapy, is a physical treatment primarily used by physical therapists, physiotherapists to treat musculoskeletal pain and disability; it most includes kneading and manipulation of muscles, joint mobilization and joint manipulation. It's also used by occupational therapists, chiropractors, massage therapists, athletic trainers, osteopaths, and physicians A 2011 literature review indicates that placebo is one of likely many potentially relevant mechanisms through which manual therapy improves clinical outcomes related to musculoskeletal pain conditions. Irvin Korr, J. S. Denslow and colleagues did the original body of research on manual therapy. Korr described it as the 'Application of an accurately determined and specifically directed manual force to the body, in order to improve mobility in areas that are restricted; in joints, in connective tissues or in skeletal muscles.' According to the Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapy Description of Advanced Specialty Practice manual therapy is defined as a clinical approach utilizing specific hands-on techniques, including but not limited to manipulation/mobilization, used by the physical therapist to diagnose and treat soft tissues and joint structures for the purpose of modulating pain; increasing range of motion (ROM); reducing or eliminating soft tissue inflammation; inducing relaxation; improving contractile and non-contractile tissue repair, extensibility, and/or stability; facilitating movement; and improving function. A consensus study of US chiropractors defined manual therapy (generally known as the 'chiropractic adjustment' in the profession) as 'Procedures by which the hands directly contact the body to treat the articulations and/or soft tissues.' In Western Europe, North America and Australasia, manual therapy is usually practiced by members of specific health care professions (e.g. Chiropractors, Occupational Therapists, Osteopaths, Osteopathic physicians, Physiotherapists/Physical Therapists, Massage Therapists and Physiatrists). However, some lay practitioners (not members of a structured profession), such as bonesetters also provide some forms of manual therapy. A survey released in May 2004 by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health focused on who used complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), what was used, and why it was used in the United States by adults during 2002. Massage was the fifth most commonly use CAM in the United States in 2007.