What's the Treatment Like?
Be an active participant in your recovery!
The problem starts with scarring or degeneration: Stubborn soft tissue injuries result when inappropriate healing occurs in muscles, tendons or ligaments.
Scar tissue can be part of your body’s normal healing process, but sometimes the scarring gets out of control. In these cases, scar tissue becomes disorganized and crazy-it looks like steel wool. Healthy tissue lies down in nice, tidy organized lines. Scar tissue can restrict the natural movement of soft tissue, and those restrictions can cause pain.
Degenerative tendons are simply not producing enough healthy cells and collagen (the stuff that gives tendons their strength.) A degenerative tendon is unhealthy, has poor blood flow and is prone to weakness and injury.
The ASTYM system works to heal both the problem of scar (inappropriate healing) and degeneration (lack of proper healing.)
Jump-start the healing process!
ASTYM treatment initiates the natural healing response of the body by gently disrupting abnormal soft tissue. The body sends new collagen to the area being treated, replacing dysfunctional tissue with healthy tissue. Here's how it works:
First they stimulate: An ASTYM-certified therapist follows specific treatment parameters to initiate the healing process. She or he will run instruments firmly along your skin, following the direction of the muscle, tendon or ligament. You will feel bumps as the instrument moves along your skin. These bumps are the defective soft tissue. The first couple of treatments can be uncomfortable-but stick with it. As your body heals, those bumps will decrease and the area around your old injury will smooth out nicely, indicating healing. There also may be some mild bruising in the area being treated, but don't worry! That is one indication that the body is hard at work, absorbing the old tissue and laying down healthy new tissue.
Then you stretch and strengthen: It's up to you to guide how your body heals. Your therapist will give you a customized stretching and strengthening program designed to encourage your body to heal correctly. Stretching tells the new fibers to line up properly, in nice parallel lines. Strengthening makes the fibers stronger, allowing your symptoms of pain and discomfort to go away.
And stay active: We've found that if you continue to work, play sports or do your favorite activities during your ASTYM treatment, the tissue remodeling will occur in a way that supports these activities. The great news is that the ASTYM treatment allows you to participate in these activities without the pain you previously felt. By remaining active during the ASTYM process, you will get even stronger in your old injured area.
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