Doing the normal things you do every day can cause you surprising amounts of discomfort and pain. Most of the time, you don’t even know that you are putting wear and tear on your body which creates connective tissue damage. Doing yard work, jogging, washing your car, doing housework, gardening or even walking can create damage. Augmentative Soft Tissue Mobilization (ASTYM), a natural physical therapy, is an option that can be done to address those pesky aches and pains.
What Is ASTYM?
ASTYM is a non-invasive therapy, meaning there are no openings or inoculations made to the body. This method of therapy is a highly successful manual physical therapy, typically working where other routines have failed. It is actually a very effective treatment verified by medical research. It treats additional factors other than the symptoms, by restoring movement to soft tissue, which ultimately decreases pain. It restores smooth tissues, like muscles and tendons, back to a healthy state. It is a type of rehabilitation that can eradicate or reduce scar tissue that causes pain and restricts your movement. Whether you are experiencing degenerating tissue because of age, stress, occupation or disease, this natural physical therapy could aid you in regenerating your tissue and relieving pain.
What can ASTYM Help With?
Usually, chronic pain can be accredited to the degeneration of tissue. This degeneration occurs when the healing of these tissues is inadequate. Over time, this degradation makes your tissues more susceptible to injury and pain. This form of therapy can help with a multitude of problems for a wide variety of people. Most people who have tried this method have found that the results work. Some of those who have found relief are those diagnosed with:
Scarring doesn’t only happen on the uppermost part of the skin. It can also occur under the skin, around joints, muscles and tendons. Scarring is the body’s natural way of trying to strengthen an area that is injured or irritated. Unfortunately, this often results in the reduction of movement, which will ultimately causes you pain. ASTYM therapy works to reduce that scar tissue, enhancing mobility.
Mechanisms are applied by a certified therapist onto the skin. It locates the dysfunctional, or unhealthy, tissue. It transmits an adequate amount of compression to your tissue structures. It stimulates tissue reoccurrence, assists your body in reabsorbing its own scar tissue, and helps to regenerate tendons, muscles and other tissue. This treatment can be done in a variety of settings like therapy clinics or in hospital settings.
This treatment is usually done two times a week for about four or five weeks, totaling about nine total treatments. It is most successful when done alongside stretching and practical exercises. Your therapist can help give you a personalized program designed to help your body heal faster and correctly. Continuing to move around as normal will actually assist this therapy’s goal. Doing your everyday activities as normal helps the tissue remodel itself in a way that will support the activities you do every day. Unlike other therapy treatments, ASTYM promotes patient wellness by encouraging the patient to actually stay active. It essentially makes the tissue in your body tougher and creates a better resiliency to physical stress on the body.
Anyone with chronic pain associated with body tissue should give this natural physical therapy a try. This therapy has proven capabilities in relieving pain over long periods of time. Getting to the root of the problem and not just treating symptoms will aid you in the long run in enhancing your mobility and limiting strain on your muscles, joints and tendons.
In this instance, an athlete was originally diagnosed with minor quadriceps muscle strain and was treated for four weeks, with unsatisfactory results. When he came to our clinic, the muscle was not healing, and the patients’ muscle tissue had already begun to atrophy.
Upon examination using MSUS, we discovered that he had a full muscle thickness tear that had been overlooked by his previous provider. To mitigate damage and promote healing, surgery should have been performed immediately after the injury occurred. Because of misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment, the patient now has permanent damage that cannot be corrected.
The most important advantage of Ultrasound over MRI imaging is its ability to zero in on the symptomatic region and obtain imaging, with active participation and feedback from the patient. Using dynamic MSUS, we can see what happens when patients contract their muscles, something that cannot be done with MRI. From a diagnostic perspective, this interaction is invaluable.
Dynamic ultrasonography examination demonstrating the full thickness tear and already occurring muscle atrophy due to misdiagnosis and not referring the patient to proper diagnostic workup
Demonstration of how very small muscle defect is made and revealed to be a complete tear with muscle contraction under diagnostic sonography (not possible with MRI)
Complete tear of rectus femoris with large hematoma (blood)
Separation of muscle ends due to tear elicited on dynamic sonography examination
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