Different strokes help tissue heal
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Using simple handheld tools, physical therapist Laurie Eickhoff carefully rubs patient Lisa Maharry’s leg to treat her Achilles injury with a new therapy intended to stimulate the body’s normal healing process.
Maharry has received augmented soft tissue manipulation, or ASTYM, at Ingersoll Physical Therapy since January. The clinic, affiliated with Accelerated Rehabilitation Centers, is one of a few providers in the metro area and about 30 in Iowa that offer the treatment.
Eickhoff has used the technique on a dozen patients since November. Some were referred by physicians, while others were existing patients she transitioned into the therapy after trying other measures.
Tennis elbow and plantar fasciitis, or pain in the bottom of the foot, are two areas that research shows benefit the most from ASTYM, which can be used for acute or chronic conditions. Eickhoff also has used it to treat knee tendonitis and long-term neck and upper back problems.
The treatment is geared for patients who have tried traditional therapy, shots, medicine or ice and aren’t making progress, she added. Maharry has had an Achilles problem for about five years and injured it again during a workout in December.
“When I had this injury, my doctor said I’d be a good patient for this treatment because it’s not a brand-new injury. I was coming out of a push-up into a run and overstretched that Achilles and brought it all back,” Maharry said.
Therapists use three small tools - an evaluator, localizer and isolator - to stroke an affected area two to three times in each direction. The movement helps reabsorb scar tissue and degeneration and lay down healthy tissue. The therapy can be uncomfortable at first.
Because other areas of the body may compensate for an injury, treatment focuses on an entire region.
“The idea is that we treat the whole leg, even if it’s just an ankle problem. We’re actually stimulating the healing response. What I’m doing is not actually causing a big reaction right away. We’re trying to get the body to heal itself,” Eickhoff said.
Manual treatment and exercises may also be incorporated into treatment plans, she added.
A simple way to explain the process is to think of scar tissue as spaghetti.
“Cooked spaghetti on a plate is what scar tissue will look like when it’s laid down incorrectly. That’s what we can actually feel in certain places, when it’s bumpy. And a patient can feel that, or it gets red. What we want is for that tissue to lie down straight like raw spaghetti,” Eickhoff said.
Patients may continue with normal activities so the tissue will lie down correctly and in the pattern they usually use it. Other methods may force patients to avoid activity for weeks.
Maharry still has some tightness on the back of her knee where the hamstring attachments are, but the front of her leg has improved, Eickhoff said.
Maharry added that the process has become more comfortable, and while there may be some tenderness, it fades quickly. She uses an incline board to stretch her Achilles but is back to her normal activity level as a health and fitness specialist at Principal Financial Group.
Patients typically come for nine to 12 visits, or twice a week for four to six weeks. Some rest is required between visits to allow the body to heal.
One patient has already seen complete improvement from plantar fasciitis after 10 visits and is walking every day, Eickhoff said. Another patient resolved his heel pain after 12 visits and has begun treatment for chronic elbow pain after seeing how well the process worked.
astym.com
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