Hands on treatment - do you need it?

There’s no denying physical touch is incredibly important - In a recent article entitled “That human touch that means so much”, Mandy Tjew- A-Sin and Sander Koole (Sin & Koole, 2013) discussed the importance and power of human touch on an emotional as well as a social level. They argue that interpersonal touch, although important, is becoming increasingly rare in modern societies, where large parts of life happen digitally. - So can we please stop ignoring the fact that human connection is important as we trend to move most things online.

Manual therapy is an important part of our practice at Restorative. Some practices have evolved to be only movement based, and some are primarily modality (TENS/ultrasound/laser) focused - which is ok if they are getting the desired outcomes they want to have. The problem is when we get too dogmatic in one treatment style over another and choose not to recognize the importance of using what is most needed for the person in front of you in that specific moment in time. You can find a lot of research for and against manual therapy ( massage, manipulation, mobilization) but from my own 16 1/2 years of “hands on” clinical experience - I’d say it’s one of the most important tools I have.

Hands on therapy allows me to see how sensitive the tissue is, is there scar tissue or adhesions post surgery preventing good tissue extensibility, is a joint glide restricted, is there a difference in muscle tone between the two sides, does touch elicit an emotional release…just to name a few.

It’s important for your clinician to gather as many data points as possible to make the best clinical choice for your treatment plan- and physical touch provides one of those data points. And then yes, we must move on and the real rehab happens when we put tissue under the appropriate load once you’re out of pain.

Just something to think about if you feel like something is missing from your current treatment plan. There’s a time and place for everything. Don’t be afraid to ask if there are other treatment options if you’ve reached a plateau- remember you are part of the decision making process and help guide best treatment.

~Find your passion, find what moves you, find your strength in movement~