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A New Take on an Old Technique

Keeping up on all the latest techniques, last month two of IPT’s physical therapists, Jennifer Muir and Dr. Jared Brown attended a technique course on Instrumented Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization.

What is it? – IASTM has come to mean any type of tool assisted massage. It is a manual therapy technique using specially designed instruments to release tight tissue (muscle knots) and adhesions (scar tissue). IASTM has recently become a popular technique but has been used in western medicine since the mid 90’s and has actually been around for thousands of years evolving from a Chinese medicine technique called Gua Sha.

What does it do? – There are four ways IASTM affects tissue and the healing process

1. Neurophysiological effects – stimulates the nervous system, initiating

the natural healing process of tissue

2. Mechanotransduction – mechanical stimulus using pressure to affect biological change and tissue repair

3. Breaking of Cross-Links – releases fascial restrictions

4. Fluid dynamics – improves circulation, reduces swelling

Why choose IASTM?

Studies are showing immediate improvements in range of motion, strength and pain perception following treatment. IASTM is commonly used for soft-tissue injuries involving muscles, tendons, and ligaments such as strains and sprains.  Great for chronic conditions (ie achilles tendonitis, tennis elbow, hamstring strains, IT band syndrome) IASTM can have great immediate results to regaining mobility, improving tissue tension, speeding up the healing process and returning to sports faster.

Next time you are at Innovative Physical Therapy ask about IASTM, give it a try and see the results!