Soft tissues include muscles, tendons, ligaments, and nerves. Adhesions within the soft tissues
can develop as our body attempts to heal injuries with a lengthy inflammation process,
resulting in scar tissue. This can take place because of both traumatic and overuse injuries. A
traumatic injury could include a sprain or strain as result of a slip or fall. An example of this
would be an ankle sprain. On the other hand, overuse injuries occur gradually over time
when an athletic or other activity is repeated often enough, that areas of the body do not have
enough time to heal between occurrences.


To treat soft tissue injuries, we utilize different forms of manual therapy to restructure areas of
scarring and adhesions with the goal of increasing blood flow and restoring the normal function.
IASTM (Instrument Assisted Soft-Tissue Mobilization) is an example of a manual therapy
technique that is utilized. The stainless-steel instruments have beveled edges and contours
that can conform to different body anatomical locations and allows for deeper penetration. It is
particularly effective in treating more dense areas of soft tissue. Those areas include plantar
fascia, iliotibial band, common extensor tendon in the elbow, lumbar fascia, and knee capsule,
just to name a few.


Common injuries IASTM can help with include:

  • Plantar Fasciitis
  • Achillies Tendonitis
  • Lateral Epicondylitis (Tennis Elbow)
  • Medial Epicondylitis (Golfer's Elbow)
  • Patellar Tendonitis (Jumper's Knee)
  • Low Back Pain
  • IT Band Syndrome
  • DeQuervain's Syndrome
  • Trigger Finger
  • Post-Surgical Scar Tissue

In this video Dr. Donahue further explains this valuable technique.

Ryan Donahue

Ryan Donahue

Chiropractor

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