Mulligan Concept Therapy treaments

Having recently completed a Mulligan concept manual therapy upper body refresher course, I wanted to talk a little bit more about how these techniques can be used to treat pain.

What is Mulligan therapy and how does it work?

Mulligan Therapy or Mobilisation with Movement (MWM) is a technique that was developed by Brian Mulligan in New Zealand.

Mulligan concept manual therapy can be used to help treat a variety of injuries and pain including neck pain, back pain and upper and lower extremity injuries (arms, legs etc.) It is designed to reduce pain and improve your range of motion.

The Mulligan concept involves several different mobilising and movement techniques to treat back pain or neck pain caused by damage to the spine or arm or leg pain due to that damage. The technique also treats limbs affected by damage to spine. The Mulligan technique involves Natural Apophyseal Glides (NAGS), Sustained Natural Apophyseal Glides (SNAGS) and Mobilization with Movement (MWM) for treatment of musculoskeletal injuries- which are fancy acronyms for different techniques that manually reposition the body!

The treatments, much like many osteopathic treatment involves joint compression, muscular contraction or stretch. For example, it can be used to locate the nerve, joint, or muscle that is causing your headaches and effectively treat that specific body part in hopes of lessening the pain and frequency of headaches.

Sometimes, a Mulligan belt or strap is used to mobilise the affected joint.

What are the benefits of Mulligan therapy?

Mulligan therapy is beneficial for anyone with neck or back pain and resulting limb pain such as:

• Joint stiffness in the back or neck as well as the arms or legs

• Reduced range of movement in the back or neck as well as the arms or legs

• Pain in the back or neck as well as the arms or legs