We know how frustrating neck pain can be. Many people plagued with neck pain struggle to find long-term relief. If you have been suffering from chronic neck pain, manual therapy and a personalized exercise program might be right for you. Keep reading to learn more.
Manual therapy is a specialized form of physical therapy. Treatment is delivered by your therapist’s hands. When done by a skilled therapist, it reduces pain, improves joint mobility, and restores your ability to function.
Manual Therapy and Exercise: Proven to Alleviate Neck Pain
A paper published in the Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation looked at 23 different studies on manual therapy over a 15-year time span. When combining the evidence, 2 important points are evident for people with neck pain:
- Combining different forms of manual therapy with exercise is better than manual therapy or exercise alone.
- Combining manual therapy with exercise improves pain, function, and patient satisfaction when compared to usual medical care, exercise alone, manual therapy alone, or no treatment at all.
3 Manual Therapy Techniques That Decrease Neck Pain
Physical therapists use clinical reasoning and their hands to apply pressure on muscles and manipulate joints. This restores movement and decreases pain caused by muscle spasms, muscle tension, and arthritic joints.
Therapeutic touch is applied in a skilled fashion. This calms or facilitates your body’s nervous system. Often, you experience an immediate decrease in pain, improved muscle function, and improved mobility.
Mobilization and manipulation consist of movements of joints and muscles. All of these treatments are pain-free. Below are 3 examples of neck mobilizations that help restore joint mobility and decrease pain.
Manual therapy treatment usually lasts 15 to 20 minutes. Your therapist then prescribes 3 to 4 specific exercises targeting your unique problem. For pain relief to last, you must perform these exercises at home.
See Your Physical Therapist for an Initial Evaluation
Before applying any manual therapy treatment, your physical therapist must thoroughly examine you. All people with neck pain do not receive the same treatment. Therefore, your program is always personalized.
If you are having neck pain or headaches, the sooner you see your physical therapist the better your outcome will be. The longer you wait the stiffer and weaker you become. Also, your brain is good at compensating for how you move to avoid pain. You don’t want to develop bad habits that are hard to break.
Call your physical therapist and schedule an initial evaluation.
