What is scraping?
Scraping is an instrument-assisted manual therapy that enables clinicians to efficiently locate and treat soft tissue tightness and injury, and accelerates the healing of injured soft tissue. The scraping technique helps break up adhesions and restore normal tissue mobility.
The Graston Technique
Gua sha, one of the oldest forms of traditional Chinese medicine, encourages a healthy flow of energy and blood.
In the early 90s, amateur athlete David Graston created a variation of gua sha in the US. He had a knee injury at the time and developed the unique tool and massage technique (now referred to as the "Graston technique") to treat himself.
This technique uses a stainless-steel instrument and massage method to identify areas of muscle adhesion that can be improved and help increase blood flow and restore movement patterns to the injured tissue.
While gua sha targets the skin and capillaries, the Graston technique specifically targets underlying muscles, tendons, and fascia.
The technique is now widely used to help athletes and weekend warriors recover from strained or pulled muscles and ligaments.
Benefits:
increases circulation
breaks up scar tissue
reduces pain and inflammation
increase range of motion
improves performance
accelerates healing
Treatment
Should be performed by a trained therapist or clinician
Some discomfort is expected during treatment
Slight bruising, redness, and soreness after treatment is common
Most feel relief immediately after one session, but most need multiple sessions for lasting improvement.
If this is something you are interested in, ask your provider if it will be beneficial to add this into your treatment plan.