[Physical treatment in pain therapy]

The application of physical therapy for the treatment of chronic and recurrent pain, above all in the locomotor system, is indeed common, but its importance for pain therapy is often underestimated. The use of physical measures frequently does not follow scientific aspects. Their application without a concept and without regard to the functional and structural alteration as typical of pain in skin, connective tissue and muscles is to be criticized. A survey of the essential physical measures and their therapeutic effects is given and the principles of prescription are discussed.