Graston (Torture) Technique

See these instruments? Do they kind of remind you of these instruments?

Yeah, me too.  That's what I thought this morning before work when I first saw Dr. Ben pull a device out that resembled a butter knife and told me, "this is going to hurt a little bit."

At least in surgery you get an anesthetic.

The device Dr. Ben used is called a Graston tool, one of six that encompass the Graston Technique, which helps alleviate adhesion in soft tissue muscle.  From what Dr. Ben explained, an adhesion occurs when soft tissue or fascia crosses over onto itself or becomes knotty.  It should be smooth and run parallel to muscle.

One of the by-products of the Graston Technique is bruising of the affected area on your body.  It's done on purpose to help restore blood flow and dissolve bad tissue.  Dr. Ben told me to expect a fairly heavy amount of bruising over the next two days.  I'm starting to bruise tonight, 10 hours later.  Let's see what happens when I wake up.

The pain is manageable.  It feels like a sharper version of a rolling pin moving across your affected area, though the Graston tool generates a hot sensation on your skin from the friction (though gel is applied first).  If you've had a lot of massage work done, the pain is similar to a deep tissue massage.  On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being screaming in pain from a brutal massage, my first Graston session was a 6.  Not comfortable, not pleasant, but I've faced much worse.

The reward?  A lunge stretch with Dr. Ben immediately following the treatment and feeling no pain in my hip area at all.

Was that because of numbness?  Maybe.  Did I care?  Not at all.

In fact, I rewarded myself with breakfast across the street.   It's not unlike being a little kid when after scraping myself I'd beg for chocolate ice cream as a "reward" for my bravery having alcohol rubbed on the wound.

I'll post pictures of my bruise tomorrow if it gets nasty.

And now, bed time.

152 days and counting.