Scrape Away Your Sports Injury With the Graston Technique

Just about everyone has had to deal with an injury at one point or another, but if you’re highly active or participate in sports, you are bound to deal with a variety of tissue, muscular, or musculoskeletal conditions. In 2020, the National Safety Council (NSC) estimated that over 1.2 million people, ranging from children to older adults, dealt with numerous injuries from activities like bicycling, exercising, basketball, swimming, football, soccer, and baseball.

Manual therapy is the common name for many different types of hands-on, therapeutic treatments often used in treating sports injuries, which can be combined with other treatments to help you recover. If you’re dealing with injuries that leave scar tissue or other types of trauma to soft tissue, the Graston Technique® is a form of manual therapy that can work wonders. Let’s look at how the technique works, what injuries the method is designed to treat, and what the procedure itself is like.

Residents of the Houston and Spring, Texas, areas looking for relief from pain stemming from sports injuries can get help from Drs. Billy Cheong, Kesia Broome, Elias Madrid, and the experienced team at Elite Spine and Health Center.

How does the Graston Technique work?

This method, also known as the instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM), can be performed with the bare hands, but is frequently done with a series of concave and convex stainless steel tools that are used to detect and treat damaged fibrotic tissue. The treatment uses a cross friction massage that brushes and rubs against the scar tissue to stimulate small amounts of trauma to the affected area, which helps to promote healing.

What does it treat?

This treatment can be used for a wide variety of soft tissue injuries:

Upper limbs

This treats frozen shoulder, carpal tunnel syndrome, shoulder impingement syndrome, medial epicondylitis (golfer’s elbow), de Quervain’s tenosynovitis (pain associated with thumb and wrist movement), and Dupuytren's contracture (an illness where your fingers bend toward your palm).

Lower limbs

This method frequently treats calf pain, patellar tendinopathy, knee arthrofibrosis, Achilles tendinopathy, plantar fasciitis, hamstring tendinopathy, ankle instability, and limited hip or knee range of motion. 

What is the procedure like?

Before the treatment starts, you may spend a few minutes doing some cardiovascular work, such as treadmill walking or stationary cycling, and ultrasound or heat may be applied to warm up the tissue to be treated. To begin, your practitioner will use one of the tools to scan and treat the affected area with specific massage techniques, which can last up to a minute per treated area. Some discomfort can be expected during the treatment, which can be treated with ice. Stretching and strength exercises can be done in combination with the Graston Technique to help the healing along.

If you're dealing with soft tissue injuries, the Graston Technique is a safe, effective solution to relieve pain and heal injuries. If you’re ready to start the road to recovery, make an appointment with Drs. Keong, Broome, Madrid and Elite Spine and Health Center today.