Between the muscle, skin, and bone
there are layers of fibrous connective tissue called fascia.
This fascial connective tissue is primarily made of collagen fibres
and designed to stabilize, and allow flexibility of tissues
such as muscles, ligaments, skin, and other internal structures.
In a healthy system, muscles are able to slide without restriction.
However, following an injury fibroblast lay down more collagen
and increase the fascial density creating adhesions.
Some people refer to this as scar tissue,
which limits the function and range of motion of the muscles, joints, and
other tissues in the the region.
Insturment Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization or IASTM
can help loosen or release fascial adhesions through the use of special instruments and techniques
The beveled edges are able to specifically pull, stretch, and release fascial tissues.
IASTM also promotes movement of blood through capillary beds
and stimulation of neurologic pathways and reflexes that affect muscle tone and mobility.
Mechanical stimulation in conjunction with increased local blood flow
and neurologic stimulation promotes optimal healing and function.
Practitioners appreciate the use of IASTM for relatively short treatment
times required and decreased wear and tear on their own bodies.
The use of bevelled instruments allows for deep, more specific treatments
and adds another tool in the toolbox of any practitioner.
Here we have a cadaver demonstration of some instrument assisted techniques
working on the superficial fascia.
On the lower part of your screen, what you're looking at is actually the muscle.
On the upper part of the screen, you're seeing the superficial fascia being reflected back.
And if you look really closely at the junction between those two structures
you're able to visualize actual superficial fascial and deep fascial connection, right there.
With various techniques and movements in different regions of the body,
you're able to release different forms of scar tissue and adhesion
that will improve overall function in this region.
So we're going to look at ProStim1 tool basic application.
Generally what you want to do, you'll start with the scanning stroke to begin with.
Where you'll just work through and look for any areas of tightness or stiffness
or a little bit of fibrous adhesion, maybe, or just roughness in the muscle itself.
A couple of things to realize, biomechanically, this is an easy action for me to perform.
Your strongest action is actually pulling in like this.
So if I put my hands over top, using my fingers or even the upper part of the palm of the hand,
you can hook in and get a very specific contact and slowly scan through
and see if you notice any tightness that you want to work on as a light, superifical scan to begin with.
And then you can increase the pressure and start to drag through that tissue and lengthen out the fibers.
There are different protocols that we can use that involve active range of motion,
passive range of motion, and stretching, but just to see a basic fiber pull through, right there.
You can imagine
Now this guy is about 200 lbs that we are working through, right here.
This requires a fair bit of force to work on somebody this size
How much this would actually save your hands?
So you start of nice and quick. Find your area that you want to scan through.
Maybe just spend a little more time.
Simply flip the instrument over
Go from concave to convex edge and you can actually give it
a little more specific pressure overtop of that region.
If you want it more than that, you can flip the instrument around.
This edge goes from dull, dull, dull to a little bit sharper in this area
and you can start to dig in and get a very specific contact,
working on those knots or adhesions that you might find in that area as well.
And if I wanted to get even more specific than that,
I can use this instrument like it's my extra thumb -
where I can push into it and I have grip through my entire hand
and we can separate through the different tissues a
and start to sink in and just really work your way through it
or maybe even do it with a little bit of pinning and stretching.
Or if you were doing, maybe more of a supinatous-type of issue,
you can take the arm up like this a little bit.
Shorten supraspinatous, hook in,
and then take him through a little bit of a lengthening action.
Shorten, lengthening action. Taking that pressure, the contact pressure,
is off your thumb and onto a very specific edge that gives you specific treatment.
When most patients say they want deep treatment,
what they actually mean is that they want specific treatment.
Tissue specific treatment results in better outcomes.