What are bodywork and manual therapy?

Bodywork and manual therapy are general terms that refer to body manipulation therapies used for relaxation and pain relief. Massage and chiropractic are well-known forms of manual therapy.

The idea behind bodywork is that people learn—or are forced by injury or stress into—unnatural ways of moving or holding their bodies. This unnatural movement or posture changes the natural alignment of bones, which in turn causes discomfort and may contribute to health problems.

The aim of bodywork is to realign and reposition the body to allow natural, graceful movement. Bodywork, along with identifying possible contributing causes of unnatural movement and posture, is thought to reduce stress and ease pain.

Some of the most common forms of bodywork are:

• The Alexander technique, which focuses on proper alignment of the head, neck, and trunk. It emphasizes improving health by increasing awareness of proper posture.
• The Feldenkrais method, a gentle form of bodywork that increases flexibility and coordination. Feldenkrais exercises are intended to help increase a person’s awareness of body movement and develop new patterns of movement.
• The Trager approach, which people use to help relearn natural movements and exercises so their bodies can function better. Practitioners teach gentle, rhythmic motions to improve flexibility and promote relaxation (called psychophysical integration) and dancelike exercises to increase awareness of body movement (called Mentastics).
• Deep tissue massage, which attempts to treat chronic tension in deep muscles of the body. Deep tissue massage is thought to relieve pain and increase flexibility.
• Rolfing, a form of deep tissue massage that practitioners use to realign the tissues that cover and connect all muscles and body organs (fascia). Bringing the body back into proper alignment is thought to reduce pain, improve flexibility and energy, and reduce muscle tension.
• Dance/movement therapy, which has many of the same characteristics as the bodyworks above with the addition of creative and expressive art elements.

What is bodywork used for?

People may use bodywork to promote relaxation, relieve stress, and reduce pain associated with certain disorders of the muscles and joints, such as arthritis and fibromyalgia.

Is bodywork safe?

Bodywork can be a safe form of therapy when a qualified and experienced practitioner performs it. Its effectiveness is not scientifically proven. Talk with your doctor before you start any bodywork program, so you can choose the most appropriate form of bodywork for your specific condition.

Many states license practitioners who provide bodywork therapies. Your doctor or local hospital may be able to help you find a qualified bodywork practitioner.

Always tell your doctor if you are using an alternative therapy or if you are thinking about combining an alternative therapy with your conventional medical treatment. It may not be safe to forgo your conventional medical treatment and rely only on an alternative therapy.

In addition to medicine or surgery, other treatments can be helpful in reducing chronic pain.

Other Treatment Choices

Additional treatments for chronic pain may include:

• Physical therapy. This may include hot and cold therapy to relieve painful areas of the body. It may also include stretching and range-of-motion exercises to maintain strength, flexibility, and mobility.
• Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS). TENS applies brief pulses of electricity to nerve endings in the skin to relieve chronic pain.
• Professional counseling (such as cognitive-behavioral therapy). This treatment focuses on your mental health and conditions such as stress and depression, which can accompany chronic pain and make it worse. It is important to be healthy emotionally as well as physically, to recover from chronic pain.

Your health professional may refer you to a pain management clinic to receive these treatments. These clinics provide a setting where you can receive treatment and learn to cope with chronic pain. Treatment is usually provided by a team of health professionals who work together to address the many possible causes of your chronic pain. You may also receive these treatments from your own health professional or from specialists who treat chronic pain.

Complementary therapies

Complementary therapies may reduce pain, help you cope with stress, and improve your emotional and physical well-being. These include:

• Acupuncture, a treatment based on traditional Chinese medicine, where very thin needles are inserted into the skin at certain points on the body to produce energy flow.
• Aromatherapy, or essential oils therapy, which uses a plant’s aroma-producing oils (essential oils) to treat disease.
• Biofeedback, a method of consciously controlling a body function that is normally regulated automatically by the body, such as skin temperature.
• Chiropractic therapy, a hands-on therapy based on the theory that many medical disorders (especially disorders of the nervous system) may be caused by subluxations in the spine.
• Guided imagery, a series of thoughts and suggestions that direct a person’s imagination toward a relaxed, focused state.
• Healing touch, which influences a person’s physical or emotional health without physically touching the person.
• Homeopathy, or homeopathic medicine, which is a medical philosophy and practice based on the idea that the body has the ability to heal itself.
• Hydrotherapy, which uses water, in any form, to treat a disease or to maintain health.
• Hypnosis, which is a state of focused concentration during which a person becomes less aware of his or her surroundings. Some people learn to manage pain through concentrating in this special way.
• Magnet field therapy, a treatment that uses magnets to stimulate areas of the body to try to maintain health and treat illness.
• Massage, which is rubbing the soft tissues of the body, such as the muscles, to help reduce tension and pain, improve blood flow, and encourage relaxation.
• Meditation, which is the practice of focusing your attention to help you feel calm and give you a clear awareness about your life.
• Naturopathy, which promotes using organic foods and exercise; maintaining a healthy, balanced lifestyle; and applying concepts from other areas of complementary medicine (such as ayurveda, homeopathy, and herbal therapies) to try to improve health, prevent disease, and treat illness.
• Yoga, which uses meditation and exercises to help you improve flexibility and breathing, decrease stress, and maintain health.

What To Think About

If you decide to try one or more of these complementary therapies to treat your chronic pain, find a health professional who has special training and, whenever possible, certification in the particular therapy. You may get a referral from someone you trust such as your health professional, family, or friends. Make sure all of your health professionals know every type of treatment you are using to reduce chronic pain.