http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRD6suY689I
A form of ART. it’s new, anyone ever try this?
i had it done on my calf for pf it really helped i was back running after a month!
THAT’S what I want to hear! I’ve had a chronic calf\soleus injury for 4 years and need to get it fixed
How painful was it?
Graston can be very painful (but not always), and can even cause bruising…but for tight muscles, it can work wonders. Short term pain, long term gain and all that.
Is the link supposed to be the Graston Technique or the trailer for TED?
I don’t know but don’t change it… that was hilarious!
I had it done on my achilles last year and seems to work. They will probably recommend more than one session so do them and yes you will be in a lot of pain.
Graston is new?
That movie looks great! I hope its for real.
And yes, Graston is good.
There are far more effective ways to help people without eliciting the kind of pain associated with the Graston Technique.
Care to share?
Are you familiar with Muscle Activation Techniques?
haven’t. You gonna share a bit more or one sentence at a time.
Hilarious!
No problem:)
Sorry about that, I was multi tasking … normally I write too much so thought I would try to opposite tactic…
Basically, it is a unique systematic process of evaluating the body for muscle imbalance and compensation. Once the weaknesses are identified, they are addressed via isometrics and a gentle palpation to jump start the muscles which have decrease muscle spindle sensitivity. I have worked as an Athletic Trainer and worked with Orthopedics for many years. This is by far the most precise and effective tool I have ever used or seen. Many PT’s are starting to get trained in it as well. It gets to the root cause of the tightness by treating the weakness and creating stability. Once things are stabilized, the body doesn’t tighten up anymore to protect.
I am a runner myself but more for exercise… I can run a decent 5k but my wife is the serious runner and I work with a lot of triathletes, runners, etc. with great success. I actually learned about this forum b/c I had a client come see me from 3 hours away who was told about MAT in this forum.
It has changed my world, I could not run for about 10 years without exaggerating my chronic back pain. Now I have eliminated all pain and only get occasional soreness from overuse or overly stressing the muscles but can run again with no issues. You can look at my website for more info and testimonials if you are interested. activationfitness.com
There are far more effective ways to help people without eliciting the kind of pain associated with the Graston Technique.
I saw a PT (who posts on here ocassionally actually) who used ASTYM for a knee/IT band/hip issue I was having and I can certainly vouch for that technique. It is similar to Graston but uses less force and plastic tools instead of metal so it is not as painful. I think the idea is that while it targets the scar tissue and fascia much like Graston does, its milder approach aims to promote more stimulation of cellular processes (hence the name) as well as increasing perfusion with the accompanying lymphatic drainage.
That’s about the end of my limited knowledge on that technique.
honestly its not that bad the trade off is in my mind is way worth it to be healthy and pain free,its not pleasant in certain areas on your calf but it definitly breaks that scar tissue down. I had severe pf in my left foot stemming from lots of scar tissue on soleus and gastroc after 5 treatments i was back up and running again.
ASTYM and Graston are very similar. ASTYM, when done correctly, uses a much more comprehensive approach. The provider should treat the entire kinetic chain, not just point specific. This is done because the injured area often causes an over use of the opposing muscle group.
The biggest difference between the two is that ASTYM has clinical research and out come studies, to prove what they are doing at the muscular, tendon, and cellular level.
I am just finishing up Graston and ART treatments for my Achilles. It has taken about eight weekly treatments so far but the results have been great. It certainly seems to have worked well in loosening up the muscle/tendons and breaking up adhesions. I would highly recommend it! It is very economical when compared to seeing a physical therapist.
One of many techniques with the potential to elicit positive changes, depending on the practitioner and appropriateness of the use for that particular case.
Unless you get to the cause of what is causing the brain to respond with 1) pain and 2) scarring, it is nothing more than a temporary way to make structural changes. In fact, scarring may be a stabilization and/or protective strategy from the brain in response to a threat (albeit an inefficient and sometimes painful strategy).
But unless you provide the brain with an alternate strategy in place of laying down scar tissue, you’re at risk for a return of symptoms…and that assumes that its actually scar tissue and not some other form of neural response manifesting as tightness and/or pain. Sometimes providing that strategy FIRST can obviate the need for painful interventions.