Manual therapy in Slidell.

Stiffness that will not answer to stretching usually answers to trained hands. Dr. Ryan Spano, PT, DPT earned his doctorate with a concentration in manual therapy. Here it is the backbone, not the add-on.

Hands-on, every visit No referral needed Talk to a Specialist

What It Is

Hands that know what they are feeling for.

Manual therapy is skilled hands-on treatment of a joint, a muscle, or the tissue in between. Joint mobilization to give a stiff joint its motion back. Soft tissue and myofascial work for tissue that has locked down. Manual traction to take pressure off an irritated nerve.

The goal is not ten pleasant minutes on a table. It is to open motion you did not have this morning, then use that motion in the same visit so your body keeps it. Hands make the room. Exercise moves in and stays.

It is not a massage. A massage is built to relax you, and that has real value. This is a clinical technique aimed at one restriction found in an evaluation that looks for the cause. It is also not an upsell here. Dr. Ryan Spano earned his doctorate at the University of St. Augustine with a concentration in manual therapy, and the clinic was built around that.

Therapist using hands-on manual therapy along a patient's back The backbone of the plan

What A Session Looks Like

Three steps, one visit.

1

We find the joint that will not move.

2

Hands on it, at the pace you set.

3

Then you use the motion you just got.

Why It Works

What you notice once it moves again.

Backing out of the driveway with your neck, not your whole body.

Reaching the top shelf without a running start.

Sitting through a whole movie without shifting.

Motion that stays put between visits.

Questions, Answered

Manual therapy, no mystery.

No. A massage is built to relax you. Manual therapy is a clinical technique aimed at one restriction we found in your evaluation, whether that is a stiff joint, tissue that has locked down, or a nerve under pressure. Dr. Ryan Spano, PT, DPT earned his doctorate with a concentration in manual therapy.

No. Louisiana direct access means you can start without a physician referral. If your particular plan requires one, we find that out during your benefits check and tell you before you come in, not after.

You get that answer at your evaluation, not as a guess over the phone. Manual therapy is one tool inside a plan that runs in four phases, Pain, Prime, Perform and Prevent. Each phase has a job and a way to know you have earned the next one, so the plan has an end you can see.

We check before you commit. The benefits check happens up front, and a Good Faith Estimate is available if you are paying yourself. We accept Medicare, Medicaid, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, Cigna, Humana, UnitedHealthcare, TRICARE, TriWest and Peoples Health, plus workers’ compensation and auto accident claims. Call us at (985) 326-7260.

Book Your Visit

Ready when you are.

Request a time and a real person calls you back. No phone tree. No ‘someone will reach out.’ Just a plan.

  • Hours Mon & Wed 8:00am to 6:00pm · Tue, Thu, Fri 8:00am to 5:00pm · Sat & Sun Closed
  • (985) 326-7260 Prefer to talk now? Call us.
  • No referral needed to start

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Alpha Physical Therapy