Physical Therapy - Good, Bad, Voodoo or Real?

So I'm sitting here looking out at 4 inches of snow, wishing I was outdoors climbing. At least I'm not at work today. It's a blustery day in St. Louis. Joey should also be arriving in town if he wasn't too badly delayed because of weather.

Here's an interesting article (albeit somewhat limited) on the effectiveness of some standard forms of treatment received during physical therapy. Targeted manipulation (Stretching) apparently has scientifically supported literature. Heat/cold packs, laser massage (?) is equated with voodoo. Maybe we can chalk that stuff up to the placebo effect. Still, good reading for those of us constantly contending with climbing injuries.

There're some good treatment posts from Dave Macleod (he of Scottish hard climbing) and Dave's got the degrees to support his articles. Still, I sometimes wonder how much this stuff really helps. I've consistently injured myself over the last several grades I've progressed on a rope - usually minor injuries - and I know most people have something tweaked. We're like NFL players; everyone is constantly playing partially hurt.