6 May 2024
The soft tissue in your body consists of many parts. These include ligaments, fascia, tendons, and muscles. Its main purpose is to support joint movements. Injuries to these tissues cause them to shorten. Thus restricting joint movement. Injuries also cause swelling that thickens these tissues and makes movement difficult. Soft tissue manipulation therapy includes a set of manual methods that aim to ease pain. So, these methods help relax the muscles and restore their strength. They also cure adhesions, which form within the soft muscles. Adhesions are like internal scar tissues that form due to injury or trauma. Today, we will learn the basics of soft tissues and how soft tissue manipulation helps ease pain.
You face strains and sprains throughout your everyday routine. We call these strains and sprains soft tissue injuries. The soft tissues are special cells that support your organs and the skeletal system. They include your skin, nerves, fat, muscles, cartilage, tendons, ligaments, and fascia. They also include the synovial membranes between your joints and blood vessels.
Soft tissue manipulation treats a wide array of soft tissue injuries. It aims to relax muscles, increase range and mobility, and boost healing. So, some of the benefits of this soft tissue manipulation in Marlboro include relaxing tense muscles, reducing scar tissue, and stretching the fascia.
Soft tissue injury refers to a wide range of injuries. It includes all types of injuries to the soft tissues of your body. The most common injuries include sprains, strains, stress, contusions, tendonitis, and bursitis. These injuries occur when your muscles are too tense.
As you know, muscles work simply by contracting and relaxing. When they contract, they get shorter, causing your body to move the way you want. But if these muscles don’t relax completely, they can cause problems. These problems include pain, restricted movement, weakness, and joint and bone problems. Soft tissue injuries may also occur due to stress and trauma, like twisting your ankle.
STM mainly aims to treat myofascial injuries. Which include all the body’s muscles and tissues surrounding them. STM targets the fascia layer and helps reduce pain. This also reduces friction between the joints, strengthens muscles, and increases joint range.
Moreover, STM also helps heal injuries and release stress from these muscles. It helps break down scar tissue, reduce adhesion, and help healing. It also promotes the formation of new connective tissues, which strengthens your muscles. We categorize these injuries into two main sub-categories. So, let’s learn how STM helps in healing your soft tissue injuries.
Also Read: What is the Difference between Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation?
Due to the benefits of soft tissue therapy, we know STM is a go-to option for many upper body injuries. Some of the most common conditions include frozen shoulder and carpal tunnel syndrome. Other upper-body conditions include medial epicondylitis and shoulder impingement syndrome. STM also helps treat De Quervain’s tenosynovitis and Dupuytren’s contracture. It uses different ways to treat these conditions. The main aim is to ease pain and boost the body’s self-healing powers.
At Jersey Joint, Spine, & Regen, we understand the importance of a pain-free life. Thus, we use the latest methods to provide the best occupational therapy in Marlboro and Matawan.
Just like upper-body conditions, STM also treats many lower-body conditions. These range from different muscle, bone, and joint problems. The most common problems that it treats include calf, ankle, hip, and knee pains.
Moreover, STM also helps in curing patellar, Achilles, and hamstring tendinopathy. STM also helps you in recovering from the pains that occur after surgery. So, the most common post-surgery condition is the knee arthrofibrosis. This commonly occurs after a patellar tendon repair surgery. Thus, many hospitals have in-house therapists to help you recover from such conditions. They may even suggest you receive STM on your own.
This type of therapy aims to reduce back pain. Here, the therapist applies pressure to the spine to relieve pressure off the lumbar discs. But they sometimes may apply it in sudden and quick thrusts.
This method helps soft tissues relax and relieves stiffness and pain. So, the therapist locates the pain points of your body. Then, they hold them in a passive position for 1.5 to 3 minutes. This allows the soft tissues to relax, thus relieving pain.
This method aims to relieve pressure from tissues and relax them. This includes the therapist applying direct pressure to the tense tissues and holding.
Physical Therapy Soft Tissue Manipulation involves the deep tissue massage method. So, the main aim is to improve mobility and ease lasting pain. Moreover, deep tissue work also releases muscle tension.
This manual therapy aims to improve the mobility of the soft tissues. The main areas of work are the tissues in the ligaments, tendons, and muscles. Thus, it doesn’t let scars develop. Cross friction also uses deep tissue massage to target aching muscles. Thus reducing pain and boosting your body’s healing process.
At Jersey Joint, Spine, & Regen, our therapists aim to provide the best complementary therapies in Marlboro and Matawan. This includes all types of STM methods and other non-surgical methods to ease your pain.
Soft tissue manipulation therapy is one of the leading methods of easing pain. It includes a combination of therapies that aim to ease lasting pain. If you suffer from an injury, make sure to give it immediate attention. Rest, cold and warm compresses, and physical therapies are the go-to ways to ease pain. Consult experts at Jersey JSR for a personalized pain-relief plan.
Follow Us: