Cupping, Dry Needling & Soft Tissue Mobilization.
Cupping
Cupping is a treatment technique used by manual therapists & complementary health practitioners to relieve musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction.
The vacuum creates a negative suctioning force on the tissue, affecting the body up to four inches into the tissues. Where the cup is placed on the skin, the suction lifts the fascia away from the muscle, gently separating the soft tissue and releasing fascial tensions. The suction also brings hydration and blood flow to body tissues and drains excess fluids and toxins by opening lymphatic pathways, this is a vital part of the immune system!!!
The increased blood flow brings oxygen and nutrients, encouraging restoration of the tissue to its full length and elasticity and therefore often providing pain relief from muscle tension. It is very versatile and can be modified to achieve a variety of results using techniques ranging from subtle lymphatic drainage to deep tissue release.
When cups are applied to an area and moved in a direction of restriction, it can create an even greater release of connective tissue. Additionally, once the cups are applied, we can gently start using passive, active and then functional movements to re-train tissues to move with less restriction.
Soft Tissue Mobilization.
Soft tissue scraping is medically known as Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization / Therapy or IASTM / IASTT for short. It is a form of manual therapy that often uses stainless steel instruments to assist in the treatment of musculoskeletal soft tissues. These tools are applied directly to the skin and right on or around affected tissues to stimulate the healing process.
Scraping is used to promote the gliding and sliding of structures between layers of tissue. This is used to reduce the densification of otherwise loose connective tissues that may be contributing to pain and movement dysfunction.
Tissues adhesions create tissue densification through the entanglement of hyaluronic acids. These molecules create a gel-like restriction that restricts tissues from gliding and sliding optimally. Scraping is used to increase the temperature and friction of local areas to normalize hyaluronic acid molecules, thus allowing freedom of movement in fascial layers. In this respect normal range of motion can be returned
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