Manual therapy is a useful branch of physical therapy and it can be immensely helpful for treating injuries. In some cases it can be the primary method to relax tightened tissues, relieve pain, and increase your flexibility. Whether or not it’s the only treatment you need will entirely depend on your unique body and what caused your injury in the first place. Many people will need additional treatments, such as orthotics to better stabilize limbs and even pain medication. If you have swelling and inflammation, you might need RICE treatments to ease your pain and speed up healing.