Beyond “hands only”
Interest in instruments to extend the “reach” of chiropractors, massage therapists, and others got a boost in the ’80s when David Graston suffered a debilitating sports injury. Graston’s disappointment with the rehabilitation methods of the day caused him to create several stainless steel instruments with various shapes and angled surfaces. These instruments were designed to augment hands-only approaches to healing. Doctors of chiropractic have always worked their fingers into injured soft tissue to increase blood flow and break up restrictions. But fingers alone cannot detect restrictions at deeper levels, nor can they match the ability of the right instruments to treat the full range of restrictions. Today, several companies produce handheld devices used to perform what’s known as instrument-assisted soft-tissue mobilization (IASTM).