Joint mobilizations can be a highly effective treatment strategy for decreasing pain and increasing range of motion. The joint mobilization is performed in a very specific point of the available range of motion of a particular joint, and can be applied at different grades and angles depending on what the intended treatment effect is. A joint mobilization is generally applied in a direction that a patient is unable to move actively in order to improve mobility during active movement of the joint.
Joint mobilizations can be applied to all spinal and peripheral joints, and increased mobility at one joint may improve mobility at another close-by joint. During your physical therapy evaluation, your therapist might assess joints close to where your limitation is to make sure that a limitation in mobility is not associated with another joint.