SOFT TISSUE THERAPY
Here at Custom Care Chiropractic & Performance Therapy, we do simply more than chiropractic manipulation/adjustment to help with your condition! In addition to the adjustment, we can do much more to help relieve specific type of pain and conditions while improving how you move and function! One of the most common tools that we utilize here is soft tissue therapy, which can help with your pain, function, and overall musculoskeletal health.
Soft tissues (muscles, ligaments, and tendons) may exhibit abnormal tension from poor posture, traumatic injury, or strain or sprain from a repetitive stress. This tension may produce pain, tenderness and/or cause movement dysfunctions and can manifest many ways, including trigger points. (1) We often refer to a trigger point as a taut band of muscle that can be painful upon compression and can give rise to referred pain and motor dysfunction, sometimes referred to as a knot or “kink.”
So, what is soft tissue therapy?
Soft tissue therapies are mechanical form of therapy where soft tissue structures are pressed and kneaded, using physical contact with the hand or a mechanical device. (2) The principle aim of the soft tissue therapy is to relieve pain/inflammation, prevent further injury, reduce spasm, and improve circulation. The therapy helps to increase local blood flow, helping to clear damaged cells, supply tissues with oxygen and nutrients, and assists in tissue healing. (3,4)
Chiropractors at Custom Care Chiro and Performance have received training in Functional Range Release®, Functional and Kinetic Treatment Rehabilitation® (FAKTR), Active Release, and Smart Tools® to help with array of musculoskeletal conditions that maybe affecting your daily life!
References:
1. Travell JG, Simons DG. Myofascial pain and dysfunction: the trigger point manual. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 1983.
2. Piper S, Shearer HM, Côté P, Wong JJ, Yu H, Varatharajan S, Southerst D, Randhawa KA, Sutton DA, Stupar M, Nordin MC. The effectiveness of soft-tissue therapy for the management of musculoskeletal disorders and injuries of the upper and lower extremities: A systematic review by the Ontario Protocol for Traffic Injury management (OPTIMa) collaboration. Manual therapy. 2016 Feb 1;21:18-34.
3. Montañez-Aguilera FJ, Valtueña-Gimeno N, Pecos-Martín D, Arnau-Masanet R, Barrios-Pitarque C, Bosch-Morell F. Changes in a patient with neck pain after application of ischemic compression as a trigger point therapy. Journal of back and musculoskeletal rehabilitation. 2010 Jan 1;23(2):101-4.
4. McMurray J, Landis S, Lininger K, Baker RT, Nasypany A, Seegmiller J. A comparison and review of indirect myofascial release therapy, instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization, and active release techniques to inform clinical decision making. International Journal of Athletic Therapy and Training. 2015 Sep 1;20(5):29-34.