The importance of skilled palpation in the assessment and treatment of injuries

Palpation is a therapists capacity to feel what is happening in the connective tissue he or she has their hands on. This skill is both learned and practised by top therapists.

This is one of the most important skills a therapist learns and is only perfected with time. Palpation guides treatment. Without knowing whats happening in the tissue there is no way of know what treatment to apply, If any.

Dry needling, electro-therapy, massage, stretching, functional passive release..... There are so many possibilities. It's not advisable to just use a trial and error approach as this can prove costly and sometimes as in tendonitis it's best to not touch that area at all.

As a therapist its important to be able to assess if you are dealing with a trigger point, mechanical restriction, neurological tension, joint restriction or possibly a neural mobility issue. All these conditions and many more need different treatment approaches.

Over the the years it has been a bit as an obsession of mine to chase down the answers to all these questions and I will continue with that obsession in the search for more answers.