A common fallacy among active individuals is that you should tolerate minor, acute injuries and expect them to heal on their own, over time, without seeking medical advice from a professional. While some of these injuries can and will heal own their own, they don't always heal properly. Without proper rehabilitation and therapy, some injured soft tissue can, over time, become fibrous and stick to its surrounding structures, causing alterations to its natural movement, often leading to chronic, recurrent pain.
What is Graston TechniqueÒ?
Graston techniqueÒ is a patented diagnostic and treatment protocol developed to treat such adhesions/lesions within muscles, tendons, ligaments and fascia in the more superficial regions of the body. There are a series of 6 stainless steel instruments, each designed to treat a unique body contour (see picture below). Under these instruments, the fibrous scar tissue and adhesions become more easily detected, and can be treated effectively, immediately following diagnosis.
How does Graston TechniqueÒ help with healing?
As well as physically breaking up fibrous adhesions to restore natural motion and movement in the treated structure, Graston techniqueÒ has also been shown to increase blood flow to and stimulate fibroblasts in the treated areas. Fibroblasts are the cells responsible for making collagen fibers to repair injured tissues, and treatment induced inflammation can help with debridement and tissue healing.
Because Graston techniqueÒ involves gliding the instruments over skin surface, petechiae (small red or purple spots on the skin caused by broken small capillary blood vessels) can develop during treatment of some patients. This is simply a side effect, and should not cause anything other than aesthetic concerns. This is particularly true for patients with diabetes and clotting disorders, so be sure to inform your therapist of any additional medical conditions you might have.
If you have any questions concerning Graston techniqueÒ and whether it is the right treatment choice for your injury, please contact your therapist or myself.
Chung Lee
DC.Chung@JointVenturesPT.com
