What is it? Physical therapy is a form of treatment which combines deep tissue massage with joint movement. Its aim is to restore joint mobility and ease muscular tension. As with massage therapy, the hands-on method also improves blood circulation and removes toxins from the body.
What does it treat? Designed to treat disorders of the musculoskeletal system, physical therapy is effective for back and neck conditions, sports injuries including joint strains and sprains, tennis and golfer's elbow, tension headaches, postural aches and pains, whiplash, fibrositis (inflamation of fibrous tissue) and arthritis. Long-standing medical complaints may require medical diagnosis before treatment can begin.
A first timer's experience (fiftysomething mother of four): "I went to the physical therapist with pain in my knees which I had had for some time. Before beginning the treatment, she asked me if I was on any medication. She also asked about my lifestyle and hobbies with a view to finding out when my knees hurt most. She asked me to stand and felt under my arches, my legs and my knees. Then, she asked me to lie down and moved my legs from side to side to see if there was any ligament damage. She also stretched my legs up towards the ceiling, noting that I had good movement in my legs. She then felt up along my legs from the knee to the thigh, noting that the muscle was tighter and more knotted on the outside of my legs.
"Following this, she did some deep massage into the outer sides of my legs to ease the muscle out. Although it wasn't painful as such, I could feel a strong pressure into my legs which left them feeling tingly. She asked me to turn over on my stomach and worked into the back side of my legs. Then, she moved my legs backwards towards my bottom. I felt I had more mobility after the treatment and less of the dull pain in my knees. I was, however, a bit surprised that the therapist didn't look at my spine or other areas of my body to check my overall posture. She told me to drink plenty of water after the treatment."
An advocate's view:
David McGillion (24) is a sales executive with Fitzpatrick's Fitness Centre, Killiney: "Basically what happened was I got a lot of pain around my elbow and into my elbow joint last February. I was playing quite a bit of tennis and it is the busiest time of the year for us so I was using the computer a lot. I ignored the pain for a while, and it got worse. Then, I went to my GP who prescribed anti-inflammatories. These gave me slight relief over the next three weeks or so.
"But then, through someone in the club, I heard about physical therapy and made an appointment. I had five treatments in all. After an initial assessment, the therapist concluded the problem derived as much from my work on the computer as from playing tennis. At each session, she did deep tissue massage work around the area of pain and also in my neck. I had a lingering pain in my neck from turning my head sideways towards the computer. I experienced a huge reduction in pain between the first and second sessions. Then, over the following three weeks with one session a week, the pain eased completely. "I believe now that working into the area which was tight cured the pain. I have been given stretching exercises to do every day which I do about three or four times a week. Also, I used ice on the area initially every morning to bring down any inflammation. But I don't need to do that anymore. I can play tennis now without wincing with pain and type away on the computer without any problems."
The medical view:
Dr Muiris Houston, Irish Times Medical Correspondent, says: "Per Hendrick Ling, who developed Swedish massage, believed it could bring about healing by improving circulation. Complementary therapists have adapted Ling's theories so as to place a greater emphasis on psychological benefits of treatment. Massage generally has moved away from loosening stiff joints and improving blood flow. However, physical therapy techniques do emphasise the stretching of muscles and joints, and there is some evidence to suggest the effects of massage in improving circulation and decreasing muscle tension. There is no reliable data to link these changes with clinical benefits such as increased mobility or improved athletic performance.
There are approximately 100 physical therapists registered with the Irish Association of Physical Therapists (01-2835566). All registered physical therapists have completed a three-year diploma course in physical therapy.Each treatment costs between £25-£35 per 45-minute session
