Soft tissue mobilization (STM) is a very broad term. It can include all types of manipulating or “mobilizing” soft tissue in an effort to decrease pain and improve movement. Recently, tools have been added to soft tissue mobilization which is called IASTM or Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization (Graston, St3 Fuzion, etc. are brands of IASTM). The goal of instrumented STMs, or IASTM, is clear and simple: to mechanically break apart adhesions.

Rather than simply mobilizing tissue (STM), or...

There is a significant difference between ASTYM treatment and instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM) techniques, such as Graston®, Sastm and other tooled friction massage.

Although ASTYM treatment evolved from research on manual therapies, including friction massage, it is very different than friction massage, and its variation, tooled friction massage. Tooled friction massage is often referred to as instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization or IASTM, and is also referred to by...

Graston® Technique, Sastm, and ASTYM treatment are very different, but they do share a bit of history.

The history and the research…

Being a former collegiate athlete, I had several nagging injuries.  During my medical training, I made an effort to seek out possible treatments and therapies for my troublesome knee, ankle and elbow pain.  I tried all treatment options I could find, but nothing worked.  Pursuing medical research was an avenue to help me figure out why current treatments would not...