East Bay Chiropractic Wellness P.C.

Graston

Can The Graston Treatment Treat TMJ?

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The temporomandibular joint, or TMJ, is the pair of joints on the sides of your head that connect your jaw to your skull so your mouth can function properly. Unfortunately, like any part of your body, you can develop a disorder around your TMJ that causes pain, which is known as TMD for short. This could result from an injury, arthritis, bad habits like grinding your teeth, or even some diseases.

Now that we know some of the causes of a TMJ disorder, what can you do to experience relief from the jaw pain and discomfort?

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Whiplash and the Graston Technique®

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Neck strain caused by a forceful, fast back-and-forth motion is called “whiplash” because the motion resembles the cracking of a whip. Whiplash injuries are most commonly associated with rear-end car accidents, but it can result from sports accidents, trauma, or other similar jolting injuries.

The Graston Technique® is a manual therapy classified as an instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization treatment. The Graston treatment can be used to treat whiplash, along with other conditions.

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Graston Technique® for Sciatica Relief

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Sciatica refers to pain that is felt along the path of the sciatic nerve, an area that goes from your lower back through your hips down past your buttocks into your leg. It typically affects one side of your body at a time. It can be the result of a herniated disk or bone spur on the spine that’s caused a compression of the nerve.

The Graston Technique® is a soft-tissue instrument-assisted mobilization, a manual therapy technique applied during chiropractic treatment. Instead of only using the hands, this technique uses six instruments in combination with a specialized form of massage to create a therapeutic effect.

The six core tools used in the Graston Technique® are made of stainless steel and are a variety of convex and concave shapes. The tools have blunt, rounded edges and are used to scan and detect areas of injured fibrotic tissue.

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What Is IASTM?

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As we get older, we become more prone to complicated injuries. Some of these more complicated but common injuries come in the form of soft tissue injuries.

Your soft tissue is basically everything that wouldn’t be considered a part of your skeleton or your organs. This includes your skin, muscles, nerves, ligaments, tendons, and so forth. The kind of injuries that you’re looking at that affect soft tissue are sprains, strains, and other similar kinds of injuries that can cause pain, discomfort, and limit mobility.

One approach to managing soft tissue injuries is known as soft tissue mobilization. This form of physical therapy incorporates several techniques to treat the affected area, reduce pain, and increase mobility. Some forms of soft tissue mobilization include the use of specially designed tools. These are known as instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization therapy, or IASTM for short.

Studies have shown that soft tissue mobilization can be more effective in pain reduction than even corticosteroid shots. What else do we know about IASTM?

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Golfer’s Elbow and The Graston® Technique

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As we go through our years of schooling, we’re encouraged to participate in sports and gym classes to develop healthy habits later in life that will encourage us to stay active. Many of us may go on to have a gym membership or home gym, go for runs or jogs, or play sports casually well into middle age, including golf and tennis.

While we’ve mentioned injuries in the past that could be sports related involving the spine, there are plenty that don’t. Some such sports-related injuries not involving the spine include golfer’s elbow and tennis elbow. Could these injuries and sources of chronic pain be treated with chiropractic care even though they don’t involve the spine?

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