[Manual medicine].

The techniques of manual medicine provide the basis for the palpatory recognition of dysfunction, primarily in the musculoskeletal system. The essential criterion of manual medicine is inclusion of the segmental level of function. One criterion of evaluation is, most notably, segmental hypomobility. The purpose of manual diagnostics is to determine segmental blockage. Manual therapy techniques lead first to improved function of the segment and, consequently, to improved function of the whole organism. Manual medicine focuses on the (peri)articular and myofascial levels as well as on the nervous control level of the motion segment and may interact with therapeutic methods. For therapeutic purposes, the joint may be manipulated with impulse as well as without therapeutic impulse for soft techniques. Different muscle relaxation techniques are used on the myofascial system to achieve improved function of reflectory or structurally altered musculature and of the myofascial system.