In a manual treatment, the hands of the treating therapist are basically the most important working tool. He has learned in his training a wide variety of examination methods and forms of treatment to remedy a grievance on the body of his patient. Nevertheless, the forms of therapy differ, as they are partly based on different theoretical foundations.
Manual Medicine/Chirotherapy
Manual medicine/chirotherapy is based on the understanding that disorders of the spine or other joints can be detected by special tests and corrected with manipulative and mobilizing hand movements – more than 100 of them exist.
The spine, with its many vertebral bones, joints, ligamentous structures and muscles, is a complicated construction. In order for it to function properly, the interaction between all structures must run smoothly. As soon as tensions or joint blockages occur – which is often the case due to our back-unfriendly everyday life – they can be effectively eliminated by manual medicine.
In practice, special consideration is given to the fact that manipulation in the disturbed region is carried out with a short path, for a short time and with small force in order to spare the tissue.
Chiropractic and kinesiology
Chiropractic and kinesiology also make use of this theoretical basis. However, kinesiology also draws on other concepts such as acupuncture, craniosacral therapy and homeopathy.
For them, the function of the individual muscles, especially in comparison to the opposite side is decisive for the therapy, in which specific muscles and/or acupuncture points are then stimulated. The muscles are tested with a detailed muscle test.
Physiotherapy techniques and osteopathy.
Physiotherapy techniques according to Brügger, Brunkow, Cyriax, Janda, Maitland and McKenzie include various hand grips for mobilization and manipulation and put the theory of manual medicine into practice.
Osteopathy with its sub-forms also treats movement restrictions of the body, but the part comparable to manual medicine, parietal osteopathy, represents only one area. The concept of osteopathy goes beyond mere movement disorders caused by joints, bones and muscles.
It assumes that all tissues in the body, as they are connected to each other by connective tissue, nerves and blood vessels, can interact with each other and that disturbances of these tissue connections – whether in the area of the intestines (visceral osteopathy) or in the area of the brain and cranial bones (craniosacral therapy) – can be influenced from the outside by targeted hand movements. The individual hand movements are not necessarily intended to eliminate the disorder, but in some cases merely to activate the body’s self-healing powers.
In Dorn therapy, manual neurotherapy, Bowtech and Rolfing, hand grips are used that partly correspond to those of manual medicine or represent variations, partly originate from the respective spiritual originator of the method.
