Regardless of treatment philosophy, it is difficult to dispute the importance of soft tissue work to help treat pathology, correct muscle imbalance, decrease recovery time, and restore proper muscle recruitment and firing patterns.

While there are many available options for soft tissue work, Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization or Simply IASTM is a new range of tool for Physiotherapist & Manual therapist alike in the management of soft tissue dysfunctions. Though it seems new,the concept itself originated from traditional Chinese medicine method called GuaSha where they ‘scrap away disease by allowing disease to escape as sandy looking objects through the skin’ (Wikipedia). They applied it somewhat different from how we use IASTM now looking into the concept of Chinesemeridian theory.

IASTM has been rapidly growing in popularity and there is lot talk in the Physiotherapy social network about its effectiveness &efficiency while remaining non-invasive. I have been using the IASTM technique for quite some time now and I believe it to be a valuable tool in my arsenal with its own indications and limitations.

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