Manual therapy helps with rehabilitation of the foot and ankle. It does this by using skilled hand movement to help improve tissue extensibility, increase range of motion, mobilise or manipulate soft tissues and joints, induce relaxation, change muscle function, modulate pain and reduce soft tissue swelling, inflammation or movement restriction. It also has an application purpose within acute and chronic post injury phases of recovery. Additionally it can be applied to injuries long past where structures have retained inhibited range of motion.