Graston Technique®

Treatment from Your Westchester Chiropractor

Even seemingly simple soft tissue injuries such as a muscle strain in the back can cause immobility and even excruciating pain.  One of the forms of manual therapy our chiropractor in Westchester, CA uses with instruments to treat these injuries is Graston Technique treatment.  This technique has brought relief to many patients from the Westchester, Culver City, West Los Angeles, Playa Vista, and Playa Del Rey areas.

Overview of the Graston Technique Treatment

Graston Technique therapy uses manual movements plus instruments to treat soft tissue injuries.  Its purpose is to help identify areas where you have restricted movement and to break up any scar tissue.  The technique treats restrictions by stretching your connective tissue and rearranging soft tissue such as tendons, ligaments, muscles, and fascia.  A majority of scar tissue and restrictions to fascia are the result of some type of soft tissue trauma, such as a pulled ligament or tendon. 

Like other types of manual treatments, the Graston Technique also provides you with a neurologic benefit.  It activates specific nerve fibers and stimulates a reaction from organs that sense position.  Chiropractors can utilize it by itself or with other therapies.

The primary soft tissue structures in your back are muscles, ligaments, tendons, and fascia.  Injury to any of them can cause considerable pain and dysfunction.  If you have a soft tissue injury, Graston therapy could offer you these benefits:

• Decreased total treatment time.
• Faster rehabilitation and recovery
• Avoiding anti-inflammatory drugs
• Achieving resolution to conditions previously consider permanent.

This therapy uses a combination of handheld instruments and a specific massage technique to break up scar tissue and increase blood flow to areas of injury.  Our doctor uses it to treat several conditions, among them:

• Achilles’ tendon injuries
• Shin splints
• Muscle strains or sprains in the lower back
• Cervical strain/sprain
• Rotator cuff tendinosis
• Tennis or golfer’s elbow
• Runner’s knee
• Carpal tunnel syndrome

What to Expect from This Westchester Treatment

At your initial consultation, our chiropractor in Westchester will conduct a physical exam and discuss your health history.  After making a diagnosis, our doctor will determine whether the Graston Technique is the right treatment for your soft tissue injury.

Each treatment session lasts around seven minutes.  Our chiropractor uses two instruments.  The first is a steel device with a concave curve to help identify and smooth areas of soft tissue that require treatment.  The second device has a convex curve to focus on specific areas that have been injured, among them small areas such as the base of a tendon or larger sections such as the calf.

After applying a lotion or cream, our doctor lightly massages the selected area.  Using broad strokes with the concave device, our chiropractor loosens connective tissue.  This device finds and smooths lumps in soft tissue each time it passes over them.  Although you can expect to experience a sensation of scraping, you should not feel pain. 

Switching to the convex device stretches tissue to relieve pain and boost function.  Any discomfort usually disappears by the third or fourth session.

Schedule an Appointment with Our Chiropractor in Westchester

Our Joga Chiropractic Center provides care for the whole family in the Westchester, Playa Vista, Culver City, West Los Angeles, and Playa Del Rey areas.  Call us today at 424-800-2488.