IVS Forum - ASTYM therapy

jdavid

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ASTYM therapy
Feb 24^th, 2011, 9:41am

Has anyone else had ASTYM therapy to treat a running injury? I only heard about ASTYM recently, and decided to try it to heal recurring hamstring strains. The intent is to remove scar tissue from previous injuries; this promotes faster healing (and supposedly prevents further injury) when the body replaces the old scar tissue with new healthy tissue. Stretching and strengthening exercises are also recommended. I am about halfway through a six-week therapy program; just wanted to know if anyone has undergone ASTYM treatments and has a success story to share. I will say that there is a certain amount of discomfort with the treatments, but I have been able to return to running (pain-free) much earlier than expected. For more info, check out www.astym.com.

Jim

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Jeep4x4greg

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Re: ASTYM therapy
Reply #1 - Feb 24^th, 2011, 10:21pm

never heard of it....so I googled and read up on it. Seems like it has a good track record and is based on some pretty well known practices for breaking up scar tissues we build up..

Keep us posted on your experience...perhaps this is something that others can ask for by name if the doctors just want to prescribe a cortisone shot and walk away (which is my experience with running related problems and doctors)

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Michael Helgeson IVS Marathoner Running: Anything over 8 hours is excessive! Posts: 228 Gender:	Re: ASTYM therapy Reply #2 - Feb 25^th, 2011, 10:45am Sounds like what a good massage theropist does.
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Paul_Wilkerson

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Re: ASTYM therapy
Reply #3 - Feb 25^th, 2011, 7:24pm

http://www.irunfar.com/2011/02/how-to-recover-from-plantar-fasciitis.html

It is rather lengthy but midway through the comments section of the link a few people get to talking about ASTYM therapy as a quick cure for PF. They also referenced http://www.grastontechnique.com/ which looks like the same thing (the slide show is interesting).

I've had pretty good luck with breaking up scar tissue for shin splints and ITBS by myself but hamstrings are pretty tricky to get to. Let us know how it works out.

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jdavid

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Re: ASTYM therapy
Reply #4 - Feb 28^th, 2011, 11:49am

ASTYM goes deeper than any massage I have received. The therapist presses plastic appliances hard into the affected area, to the point of discomfort and a little pain. The discomfort decreases with each successive therapy session. The problem I had with massages was, I would often still feel a cramping sensation in my hamstrings, even shortly after the massage session. Someone recommended ASTYM and I decided to give it a try. The real test will be when I get back to more intense speedwork and racing next month. I'm hoping that ASTYM will, at long last, resolve my leg issues for good. The results have been promising so far.

The Graston technique is similar, except it uses stainless steel devices rather than hard plastic.

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Paul_Wilkerson

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Re: ASTYM therapy
Reply #5 - Feb 28^th, 2011, 3:56pm

I hadn't heard of ASTYM or Graston before you had posted this. Oddly Saturday I was at a party with a physical therapist who uses Graston. There were also several runners there who had been to see him for various ailments. One lady mentioned "stainless steel torture devices". They all said it was painful but raved about the results. Sounds like a great route to go if rest, stretching, self-massaging/rolling doesn't work. I hope you get the same results they seemed to have gotten.

It isn't a big news flash but the therapist told me that the vast majority of problems he sees in runners stem from muscle imbalances due to being one dimensional athletes. He also answered my million dollar question. The steel and plastic tools DO NOT work on beer guts.

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Michael Helgeson IVS Marathoner Running: Anything over 8 hours is excessive! Posts: 228 Gender:	Re: ASTYM therapy Reply #6 - Mar 1^st, 2011, 8:50am Quote from Michael Helgeson on Feb 25^th, 2011, 10:45am: Sounds like what a good massage theropist does. Let me re-phrase. It sounds like what a deep muscle massage theropist does. They uese their thumbs, wrists and elbows very much like the plastic or metal appliances. This is not a pleasant experience, but does work.
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Dirt_Devil IVS Ultra Marathoner biomechanically inefficient running maximalist Posts: 573	Re: ASTYM therapy Reply #7 - Mar 1^st, 2011, 10:40am Quote from Paul_Wilkerson on Feb 28^th, 2011, 3:56pm: It isn't a big news flash but the therapist told me that the vast majority of problems he sees in runners stem from muscle imbalances due to being one dimensional athletes. good wisdom here. an easy situation to find ourselves in as obsessed running people.
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jdavid

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Re: ASTYM therapy
Reply #8 - Mar 3^rd, 2011, 8:34am

One of the ideas behind ASTYM is to intentionally cause inflammation, and to sustain the inflammation over the course of the treatments (6 weeks in my case). The body's response to inflammation (healing), plus doing the recommended stretches while continuing to exercise throughout the treatment, all work together to promote the growth of new muscle tissue (replacing the scar tissue that ASTYM breaks down). This is how it was explained to me. After several years of the same type of recurring injuries, I just needed to try something different.

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jdavid Global Moderator Truth is, u can run faster- sometimes truth hurts. Posts: 253 Gender:	Re: ASTYM therapy Reply #9 - Jun 20^th, 2011, 9:23am After a successful Steamboat race (not great but acceptable), I can now state with confidence that I am injury-free, and I give ASTYM a lot of credit for that. The last two weeks of Team Steam marked a huge improvement; can't wait for the Full Steam Ahead sessions to begin! Jim
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Jeep4x4greg IVS Ultra Marathoner "You'll be fiiiiiiine'' Posts: 1279 Gender:	Re: ASTYM therapy Reply #10 - Jun 20^th, 2011, 11:00am great to hear jim! who in the area did you get your treatment through and would you recommend him/her? I have a nagging PF issue that wont ever go away 100% and maybe this would be the ticket!
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jdavid Global Moderator Truth is, u can run faster- sometimes truth hurts. Posts: 253 Gender:	Re: ASTYM therapy Reply #11 - Jun 20^th, 2011, 11:04am I received my physical therapy from Great Plains (downtown office), and another Team Steam runner also had good results from ASTYM therapy at Great Plains. They have had good success in treating plantar fasciitis. Good luck!
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jdavid

Global Moderator

Truth is, u can run
faster- sometimes
truth hurts.

Posts: 253
Gender: male

Re: ASTYM therapy
Reply #12 - Oct 10^th, 2011, 11:59am

Injury recovery update: After beginning this year wondering whether I would ever be able to run fast again (relatively speaking), I recently managed to run a 10K PR, followed by my best 5K in two years. I'm sure there are other factors involved, and I cannot medically prove the effectiveness of ASTYM therapy, but it certainly helps to be injury-free. My race times may not be on a par with many of you, but it's nice to go out and run without worrying about pain and injury.

Jim

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"Why should I practice running slow? I already know how to run slow. I want to learn to run fast." -- Emil Zatopek

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