Daily Maestroism

DM #3

Thursday, May 26th, 2016

DM #3: I'm always hesitant to open up the can or worms that is the fascial “release” debate, but with the popularity of the #RockBlades post I did last night, I figured it warranted a follow-up post about IASTM (Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization) techniques.
The reality is that it takes thousands of pounds of force to “break up” scar tissue, and in all likelihood that's not what you're actually doing with your hands or your tools when you touch someone's tissues. Yes, you are imparting a force to the cells and perhaps directing things, but you're also imparting a force to the nervous system, which is likely what's eliciting most of the change you feel. To that end, there's absolutely no need to be so aggressive that your patient ends up bruised and looking like they just came from the last episode of Game of Thrones.
Yes, you might get some peticchea with tool work, but using enough force to create massive areas of bruising is a threat to the nervous system and generally produces a guarding response from the tissues before any “release” is experienced. You can get the same effect from far less force, as you convince the nervous system to decrease tone in the tissues as opposed to attempting to beat it into submission.
Go look at the research. Go read up on pain science. Whatever you do, take it easy with the tools and be nice to your patients.
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