What is The Graston Technique? An Instrument Used for Manual Therapy for Back Pain

A method of manual therapy known as soft-tissue instrument-assisted mobilization is the Graston Technique. It is one of a variety of methods to manual therapy that uses instruments with a specific method of gentle massage/scraping of the skin.

The treatment is intended to assist the practitioner in recognizing restriction areas and helping to break up scar tissue.

Chiropractors, osteopathic doctors, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and certain accredited massage therapists and athletic trainers also practice the Graston Technique.

Graston Technique Goals

The main aims of the procedure are to alleviate the discomfort of the patient and improve function through a combination of:

• Breaking down the restrictions on the scar tissue and fascia that are typically associated with some type of soft tissue trauma (e.g., a strained muscle or a pulled ligament, tendon, or fascia).
• Reducing constraints in an effort to rearrange the structure of the soft tissue being treated by stretching connective tissue (e.g., muscle, fascia, tendons, ligaments).
• Promoting a better healing environment for the injured soft tissue.

The neurological advantage of treating patients with the Graston Technique Instruments also seems to be present. This reaction is close to that of other manual therapies involved. The literature indicates that some nerve fibers are stimulated when a patient is given a manual or tool-assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM) therapy. In addition, the role of sensory organs in the body, such as mechanoreceptors and proprioceptors, appears to respond to these types of therapy.

Potential Benefits of Graston Therapy

Muscles, fascia, ligaments, and tendons compose much of the back. Injuries to these soft tissues play a major role in back conditions associated with pain and dysfunction. A simple back muscle strain or torn ligament in the back may cause excruciating pain and trouble with movement, although it may not sound like a serious injury.

The Graston Technique offers several potential advantages to the patient with such an injury:

• Decreasing overall treatment time
• Fostering faster rehabilitation/recovery
• Reducing the need for anti-inflammatory medication
• Resolving chronic conditions thought to be permanent
  The treatment may be used alone or in conjunction with other treatments.
  

The Graston Technique Tools

In the Graston Method, there are 6 core instruments used. Made of stainless steel, these tools are concave and convex in shape. They have rounded edges and are not sharp. The devices are used to scan and locate areas of fibrotic tissue that have been damaged.

The procedure is structured to both locate and provide the wounded areas with the appropriate care.

The Graston Technique Massage

The practitioner re-introduces small quantities of trauma to the affected region using a cross-friction massage, which includes brushing or rubbing against the grain of the scar tissue. In certain cases, inflammation in the area is caused temporarily by this process, which in turn increases the rate and amount of blood flow in and around the area. The hypothesis is that the healing process of the damaged soft tissues helps to facilitate and encourage this process.

Treatment is done through the kinetic chain, so the hip flexors, abdomen, hamstrings, shoulders, and other regions of the body that often seem distant but are linked through the fascial network can also be handled by a patient with back pain.