What is it
According to PubMed article, Effects of Instrument-assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization on Musculoskeletal Properties, Instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM) has been reported to improve joint range of motion (flexibility).
Today we will keep this in laman’s terms for the sake of the general population. Muscle Scraping, or the Graston Technique, is the use of a stainless steel instrument and a massage technique to stretch and relax the muscle tissue. Blood flow is increased and there is a restoration of movement in possible injured tissue.
WHY
Over time because of our movement patterns,(sitting, standing, looking, sleeping, working, lifting) muscular imbalances form. This is human nature. Nothing to be disappointed about, but the question is, What are you doing to undue damage or stress that is being put on the body? How are you recovering? How are you maintaining a healthy muscular/structural foundation? A healthy muscle is a LENGTHENED muscle. Below is a picture of idea muscular formation.
Think of muscle fibers as a gathering of spaghetti noodles lengthened to take on work load.
Because of Injury, surgery, and lengthened periods of time with muscular tightness, there tends to be lots of scar tissue build up in different areas. Knots that need to be released. This is why foam rolling, deep tissue massage, and other techniques have been increasingly popular. I personally get deep tissue work every 2 weeks, along with a chiropractic adjustment once per month.
TRIAL – CONCLUSION
I’ve been developing more tightness in my Quads. Less range of motion with more stress put on the knees. Lets put it this way, I can’t touch my heal to my butt. I only come about half way. I met a physical therapist at Yoga class recently that works at the Cleveland Clinic. Out of her own passion for the art, she decided to help diagnosis and develop a plan for me to rehabilitate my quads. Surprisingly I found out that the problem is stemming from my HIPS! My hips are not taking on proper work load because they’re so tight, so extra stress is put on my quads, which develops more tightness and sends pain to the knee. All along, I thought releasing the quads was the key. The KEY is to release the hips and the quads all together. It was great to be educated on understanding that most knee problems stem from the hips. So I decided to experiment with a muscle scraping tool from Amazon. Using melted coconut oil and the muscle scraping tool at night a couple times a week to release the hips and quads from long term tightness. A back and forth motion along the full spectrum of muscle fibers ranging from above my knee to the top of my hips. I am making SLOW progress, but moving in a positive direction. I will continue to do this a couple times a week, along with stretches and light foam rolling to get the tissues back to healthy lengthened spagetti noodles.
Gratitude
Thank you to the people that live with a strong sense of purpose. So strong that they decide to go out of their way to help others when they’re off the clock. To help educate the world. Knowledge and information is freedom. Download as much as you possibly can into your brain. Take everything with a grain of salt. Don’t be afraid to incorporate different techniques and disciplines into your life to make this place a bit more enjoyable for us. Experimentation and realistic incorporation. All of us put a different twist on how we take action each day.
Breath slowly. Repeat. Today. Always new. Always special.
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