Treatment Or Training, to get out of pain?
Super Common question I get asked every week. By clients, friends and family when they feel an injury creeping in , achy shoulder or back starting to tighten up.
Should you go get treatment with a physio, or spend some time on accessory work and stretches?
Below, I will explain the difference between hands on treatment and exercise based treatment, how they work together and when you should apply each.
What is Manual Treatment?
The name comes from the latin word MANUS that means hand. This is what we often think about when we think of therapy. Manual treatment is when a physical therapist, massage therapist or other body workers uses their hands to assist with the issue.
Manual therapy is a clinical approach based on skilled “hands on” therapy to decrease pain and improve the mobility of joints, soft tissues and nerves. This can allso be called Passive Treatment, because most of it is done without your involvement, while you chill on the treatment table.
What is Exercise Based Treatment?
This Therapy form is based around movements that demand your active involvement. This includes identifying movements and weights that are doable, not painful at your current level. This also covers all progressive loading of the damaged tissue in order to grow it stronger for future demands. This can be used to improve movement quality to lessen friction, do corrective exercise to strengthen both sides of a joint and to progressively grow stronger tissues to withstand the demand your sport/activity places on them.
Which One is Better?
Exercises and manual therapy are both tools that can be used to help you out of pain and stay out of pain. In every good toolbox we have multiple tools for different purposes. And this is no different. Its important to pick the right tool depending on the issue we are facing. A hammer is useless when you have screws but great when you have nails.
This is why we need to choose carefully, getting a massage of your quads is not going to help if your knees hurt from doing too many wall balls.
Because manual treatment is not good when we have a OVERTRAINING or OVERLOADING issue of a certain tissue - in this particular case we need to adjust the demands now, and focus on exercises that grow the tissue strong enough to withstand the load in the future.
This also explains why getting 10 home stretches for your glutes and core exercises is not going to help if you have a rotation block in your lowest segments of your back.
Because that mechanical misalignment needs HANDS on treatment from a chiropractor or professional to be corrected so you can put on your socks pain free.
So which one should you choose?
The answer is it depends. And often both. Let me explain how.
By figuring out where this pain comes from you may need to see a professional, below is a checklist for you to keep in mind. BUT dr. google and this blog post can not replace a consultation with a licenced professional.
You Can Benefit From Manual Therapy When Your Issue Requires:
Modulating pain
Increasing joints mobility to stiff joints and range of motion
Reducing soft-tissue inflammation
Reducing muscle tension
Inducing relaxation
You Can Benefit From Exercise Based Therapy:
When 75% of the Pain has Subsided
To Increase joints mobility in stiff joints and range of motion under load
To Stimulate and Improve tissue repair
Improving tissue stability and extensibility
Facilitate better movement patterns
To return (gradually) back to sports
Best Way To Recover?
You will get the greatest benefit from combining manual therapy with "prescribed" exercises and rehabilitation training to recover stronger and reduce the risk of your injury coming back again.
When we combine and fully utilise both, do we truly ourselves to not only recover - but to thrive.
Okay Cool, Next Steps?
At Thriving Lifestyles, Coach Eik specialises in an exercise based approach to injuries - advising you WHEN and WHAT it is safe to do. This includes what movements are safe, and how much you can increase weight and load to your joints and muscles/soft tissues to stimulate it to grow stronger.
We work with a range of manual therapists that can assist you when manual therapy is needed, this includes sports medicine doctors, chiropractors and physiotherapists.
3 Things You Can Do Today:
If You Dont Know What you Need: Book a Free ZOOM or In Person consult. I promise to always help you find what tool is needed to help you get out of pain. And have for that purpose 20 min FREE consultations, where I can advice you on your injury, aches or pains. BOOK NOW
If You In A Lot Of Pain: and want to see a Physiotherapist in the comfort of your own home, Contact MYPHYSIO and book in for a session, you get discount by applying the code EIK when you book.
If you are now 75% OUT of pain, and have completed your physiotherapy, and been discharged from treatment - but are not yet ready to return to your sport. Check out BULLETPROOFING to help you start working your way back on track.
