If you've dealt with a nagging injury that never quite resolved — a stiff Achilles, a shoulder that never fully loosened up, or a knee that still feels tight months after the initial pain faded — soft tissue restrictions are often the missing piece.
What Is the Graston Technique?
Graston uses specially designed stainless steel instruments to detect and treat areas of scar tissue, fascial restriction, and chronic muscle tightness. The tools allow Dr. Nick to target specific problem areas with more precision than hands alone.
Why Scar Tissue Limits Movement
When tissue heals after an injury, it doesn't always lay down in the same organized pattern as healthy tissue. Over time, this can create restrictions that limit range of motion and contribute to chronic tightness, even long after the original injury has healed.
What a Session Feels Like
Treatment involves targeted, controlled pressure over the affected area. Most patients describe it as intense but tolerable, and it's often followed by stretching or mobility work to reinforce the results.
What It's Commonly Used For
We use Graston and soft-tissue work for conditions like plantar fasciitis, tennis elbow, IT band tightness, and post-injury scar tissue that's limiting mobility.
Instrument-Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization, Explained
Graston is one specific brand of a broader category called instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization, or IASTM. The stainless steel tools are shaped to match different areas of the body and are designed to help the practitioner feel — and treat — restrictions that can be harder to detect with hands alone.
What Happens to Tissue During Treatment
The controlled pressure from the instruments is thought to create a localized, low-grade inflammatory response, which can help stimulate the body's own remodeling process in areas where scar tissue or fascial restriction has built up. The goal is to encourage healthier tissue alignment and improved mobility over a series of sessions rather than a single visit.
What to Expect After a Session
It's common to feel some soreness for a day or two after treatment, similar to how a deep tissue massage can leave muscles feeling worked. Mild bruising or redness in the treated area is also possible and generally resolves on its own. Drinking water and light movement after a session are commonly recommended to support recovery.
If something has felt "stuck" for longer than it should, soft-tissue work might be the piece your recovery has been missing. See our dedicated sciatica & nerve pain treatment page for more.
Graston Technique FAQ
Does the Graston Technique hurt?
Most patients describe it as intense but tolerable rather than painful. Pressure is adjusted to what the treated area can handle, and some soreness afterward is common.
How many Graston sessions does it typically take to see results?
It depends on how long the restriction has been present. Some patients notice improvement within a few sessions, while longer-standing scar tissue or chronic tightness generally needs a more extended series.
Is the Graston Technique the same as a massage?
No. While both address soft tissue, Graston uses specialized instruments to target specific restrictions with more precision than hands alone, and it's typically used for a defined issue rather than general relaxation.
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