Four Cardinal Principles of Joint Mobilization and Joint Play Assessment

Abstract

The teaching and learning of fundamental principles that guide valid and effective assessment and intervention techniques in joint mobilization is a basic foundation to those health professions that make use of manual therapy. Such principles help establish the specificity of manual therapy techniques, the foremost quality of 'best practice.' However, authors of few textbooks or reference books devote space to establishing such fundamental principles for learners and practitioners of manual therapy techniques. The purpose of this paper is to present four cardinal principles that have impressed us, over our years as educators and clinicians, as the foundation for the teaching and practice of sound manual therapy techniques for either joint play assessment or joint mobilization. These principles are utilized in practice from entry-level to master clinicians, they can guide educators as to how to introduce and monitor effective manual therapy skills among students and colleagues, and they can also serve as a source of refreshment for experienced clinicians who desire continuing education for maintenance of their hands-on skills in manual therapy interventions and assessment.