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Written by:
Dr. Adel A. Al Roujoula,
MSc, DScPT
Consultant, Physical Therapy
Head, Rehabilitation Center
International Medical Center, Jeddah
If you spend your days in an office, you’re probably familiar with the aches and pain that come with long hours of computer work. In fact, human body is a chock-full of hinges, pulleys and axles, each of which has to be in perfect harmony with the other.
A lot of time either because of accidents, injuries or general wear and tear, the system breaks down. As a result of the cumulative trauma with such office jobs, primarily the soft tissue gets irritated and secondarily the bones and muscles are affected. The neck, waist, upper and lower extremities are highly vulnerable.
Due to the wrong habit of sitting or standing with a forward stoop, the person develops a round back and many other problems. This long standing strain on the back weakens the spinal muscles. As the muscles are not able to take the strain, the strain passes on to the ligaments and as the ligaments are continuously stretched for a long period, the body’s balance breaks and you start having back pain. And that’s where a physical therapist can set everything straight.
Many patients arrive at their first physical therapy appointment expecting to receive a full package of services and instructions on how to complete a series of exercises. These modalities are warranted in many instances and most therapists would agree that exercise is needed to help restore muscle imbalances. However, many therapists now approach the restoration of function from a different perspective which is known as “Manual Physical Therapy”.
The term “manual physical therapy” refers to a specialized form of physical therapy delivered with the hands as opposed to a device or machine. In manual therapy, practitioners use their hands to put pressure on muscle tissue and manipulate joints in an attempt to decrease pain caused by muscle spasm, muscle tension, and joint dysfunction. This leads to faster recovery and less out-of-pocket expenses.
Manual therapy technique is the only solution as it stretches muscles and helps them to restore the original length which subsequently stimulates blood circulation, leading to ease the patient’s pain. Worse, poor sitting posture also causes Calcific tendinitis whereas sitting in a wrong position for a long time creates natural pressure on the shoulder tendons cannot afford these tendons and deal with it causing tendonitis intense pain experienced by the patient in the shoulder area. Manual physical therapy helps put the joint to its proper position, thereby decompresses tendons and consequently relieves patient pain.
