Eduard Touch Method (ETM): A Multi-Level Clinical Reasoning Framework for Musculoskeletal Pain with Test–Intervention–Retest Standard

This article presents the Eduard Touch Method (ETM), an author-developed clinical reasoning framework for the assessment and management of musculoskeletal pain and functional impairment. ETM integrates a three-level pain regulation model (peripheral, neurosegmental, and central), a hypothesis-driven decision sequence, and a mandatory test–intervention–retest (TIR) verification standard. The method prioritizes mechanism-based clinical reasoning over technique-centered approaches. The article includes a structured case series demonstrating application of the ETM framework in acute and chronic clinical scenarios. Outcomes are evaluated through reproducible functional testing and short-term follow-up assessment. This publication contributes to contemporary discussions in pain science, manual therapy, and rehabilitation by proposing a structured decision-making model grounded in established literature while offering an original methodological synthesis.