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Manual therapy
manual therapy · chiropractic care · spinal manipulation · osteopathy
The doctor uses their hands to work on your muscles, joints, and spine: stretching, relaxing, and gently restoring movement.
For back, neck, and joint pain and stiffness, after an exam and scans, as your doctor prescribes.
⏱ Duration: a session usually takes 20 to 40 minutes; the course is usually several sessions
Be sure to tell your doctor
How to prepare
- Scans. Bring X-rays, MRI scans, and reports. Without them, the doctor may not start.
- Food. Do not come right after a big meal.
- Clothes. Comfortable clothes, preferably sportswear.
What to bring
- Scans and reports
- Your referral, if you have one
- A list of your medicines
How it goes
- The doctor asks questions and looks at your scans
- Your movement, strength, and feeling are checked
- Muscles are relaxed by hand
- Joints are gently stretched and moved
- Sometimes there is a short click in a joint
- At the end, you get advice and exercises
What you'll feel
- Pressure and stretching, but bearable
- There should be no strong pain. Tell the doctor right away
- Afterward, a mild ache for 1 to 2 days can happen
Afterwards
- Do not lift heavy things on the day of the session
- Do the exercises the doctor gave you
- If the pain gets worse, talk to your doctor
Contact a doctor straight away if
- Numbness or weakness in an arm or leg, severe dizziness, or trouble speaking after a session: call emergency services
Common questions
Do I need scans before manual therapy?
Usually yes. They help the doctor know what is safe and what is not.
Does a click mean a vertebra was put back?
No. It is a sound from a joint as it moves. Vertebrae do not pop out like that.