19/04/2026
Myth busting here at Mint Physiotherapy Worthing 👇
1️⃣ Manual therapy does NOT change your structure
We love it and use it all the time, but it’s not ‘realigning’ anything. The effects are on your nervous system (pain modulation, relaxation), not physically reshaping tissues.
We find that language such as ‘out of place’ or ‘realigning’ causes patients to rely on the practitioner for a solution to their issues, and this is based on a false premise that manual therapy changes structure. We prefer long term empowerment for our patients!
2️⃣ Pain doesn’t equal damage
Your body is far more complex than a simple wear-and-tear model. Pain is influenced by sleep, stress, beliefs, and context, not just tissues.
Some people can have big disc bulges for example and no pain, others can have small changes, and vast amounts of pain. Pain doesn’t always mean damage.
3️⃣ You can’t massage out a poor lifestyle
Recovery is built on the basics: sleep, movement, load management, and consistency. No amount of hands-on work overrides that.
4️⃣ Long-term solutions > ‘maintenance’ therapy
If you feel like you need constant fixing, something’s missing. Rehab should build independence, not dependency.
5️⃣ Injuries rarely come from one single factor
It’s not about missing a cool down or foam rolling session. Pain is typically multifactorial, shaped by an abundance of things like load management, sleep, genetics, stress, previous injuries or experiences and biomechanics.
6️⃣ An MRI won’t always give you the full answer
MRIs are a valuable tool! They help rule out serious pathology, guide clinical decisions, and provide useful clarity for both clinicians and patients. But they’re only one piece of the puzzle.
They show detailed structural changes, many of which are completely normal (like age-related wear and tear) and often not linked to pain. That’s why imaging findings don’t always match how someone feels.
Good care is about combining imaging with your history, symptoms, and physical assessment, not relying on scans alone
