manual therapy


manual therapy

Direct patient contact mobilisation designed and performed by a licensed physical therapist (PT), or supervised assistant, which is intended to restore joint or soft tissue mobility and reduce joint contracture.

man·u·al ther·a·py

(man'yū-ăl thār'ă-pē) The use of skilled hand movements to manipulate tissues of the body to restore movement, alleviate pain, promote general health, or induce relaxation.

manual therapy

A collection of techniques in which hand movements are skillfully applied to mobilize joints and soft tissues. These techniques may be used to alleviate pain, improve motion, induce relaxation, reduce edema, and improve pulmonary and musculoskeletal function. See: manipulation; joint mobilization; soft-tissue mobilization