Manual Therapy can take many different forms as a therapeutic treatment. Typically, it involves the gentle use of hands to manipulate muscles, mobilise joints and massage soft tissue with the aim to reduce pain and improve movement.

What is Manual Therapy?

Manual Therapy focusses on reducing pain and restoring mobility through physical touch. Touch-based healing dates back at least 2500 years, with early forms practised in Egypt, China, Greece and Rome.

The philosophy of Manual Therapy takes a holistic view of the body and its ability to heal itself, with the relationship between joints, muscles, fascia, and nerves at the forefront.

Methods and techniques in Manual Therapy continue to evolve and include joint mobilisation, muscle manipulation, soft tissue massage and stretching. These are used to assist with treating a range of conditions including back pain, joint stiffness, arthritis, migraines, sports-related injuries and more.

Manual Therapy at Ultra Health Therapies

The Manual Therapy techniques used at Ultra Health Therapies are designed to improve joint mobility, reduce muscle tension, ease discomfort and encourage a deeper connection to the self. After conducting a thorough assessment with you, our experienced and caring practitioners will create a personalised plan to target the source of pain and discomfort. These tailored treatments may be combined with exercise or as part of a broader treatment plan in order to support your long-term health and optimum well-being.

Shiatsu Massage

Shiatsu is a traditional Japanese manual therapy that draws on the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Meaning ‘finger pressure’ in Japanese, Shiatsu uses fingers, thumbs, elbows, and palms to apply targeted pressure along the body’s meridian lines. These pathways are believed to support the flow of vital energy (Qi), and stimulating them may help restore balance, release tension, and activate the body’s natural healing abilities.

Shiatsu focuses not only on physical relief but on reconnecting you to your vital centre—the hara. In Japanese culture, the hara refers to the abdomen, but it also represents the true core of one’s physical, emotional, and spiritual self. It’s believed that when tension is released and energy is restored to the hara, a deeper sense of connection, vitality, self-compassion, and inner peace naturally returns.

Each Shiatsu session may also include gentle stretching and soft tissue massage to improve flexibility and support overall wellbeing. At Ultra Health Therapies, our practitioners offer Shiatsu with precision and care to help you reconnect with your body, calm your mind, and revitalise your spirit.

Where Shiatsu Massage May Be Of Help

To relieve muscle tension, joint stiffness, and musculoskeletal pain
Help to calm the nervous system, assisting to reduce anxiety and depression
To reduce digestive problems like bloating
Energises the body to combat fatigue and low energy
To improve circulation to support greater blood flow
To reduce inflammation
Promotes relaxation, which may improve sleep
Improve balance, posture, and alignment
To create a deeper sense of connection to oneself and self-compassion
Shiatsu Massage

Start your journey to optimum health with Manual Therapy

At Ultra Health Therapies, our qualified Manual Therapy practitioners offer personalised treatments with the aim to ease discomfort, enhance mobility, and support your overall wellbeing.

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FAQs about Manual Therapy