Functional Manual Therapy (FMT): An Interview With Dr. Cristiana K. Collins PT, Ph.D., CFMT, NCS

When it comes to injury recovery, one of the primary challenges patients face is finding the right physical therapist. Patients generally want an engaged physical therapist who uses reason and empathy to diagnose and adequately treats it. In 1997, Feine JS and Lund JP published research in the journal Pain on how various physical therapy practices improve symptoms of temporomandibular and other chronic musculoskeletal conditions. (1) When regular physical therapy is done right, Feine JS and Lund JP’s research supports that not only do symptoms improve, but likewise, movement patterns become more efficient. However, the relationship between physical therapy and patient satisfaction is not as clear. In 2011, the journal Physical Therapy published a meta-analysis by Hush JM, Cameron K, and Mackey M where they took satisfaction data from seven physical therapy practices in North America, United Kingdom, Northern Europe, and Ireland to determine what the average was and if there was a correlation to success. (2) The meta-analysis showed that on a rating scale of 1–5 (where 5 is the highest level of satisfaction), the average rating of satisfaction was 4.4. However, it was concluded that due to the low variance (number of participating studies) and non-response bias (some people won’t answer), there was not enough…