Breaking Up Scar Tissue - Gaston \ ART \ Deep Tissue Massage

CCV3

CCV3

Active member
So has anyone tried any of these?
I try to mash things out on my own, but I was wondering if anyone uses tools or has gone to a "certified" practitioner.
Was it worth it?
 
I would be curious if people knew a few techniques for breaking up scar tissue, i even consider to buy myself a gua sha scraping massage tool. To my experience foam rolling isn't really the most effective thing.

In the biohacking scene there are even people that use a car polisher to break up scar tissue, never tried it myself so don't know if it will really works.

Edit: Another weird tool that is being used is the shibari wand. Yes you heard it good, the tool for women is also used to massage the muscles :D.
 
I have got all them done. I truly believe they all work but it can be costly. I personally feel the best thing to invest your money is someone who does very good/aggressive deep tissue and then get a lacrosse ball and a very hard form roller. That will break up most scar tissue etc. if money isn't an issue I recommend them all. They truly open you up, increase flexibility, and I actually did measurements and my arms were bigger, back wider, and chest was wider after. If done right it works well
 
Ya I saw those massaging tool kits. Not cheap at all. Even China wants close to $100 per tool on Ebay.

A message therapist at the gym uses that car polisher on people. I've tried it. It's really not strong enough in my opinion. Or maybe she just doesnt press down hard enough but it was more of a current "feel good" result than an actual fix for anything.

Hmm, just looked into the Shabari wand. Not sure if that will do the trick either. From what I've haerd and read, going in for someone to manually break up your scar tissue is extremely painful. This thing just looks like a sex toy. Haha.

I'm about to just buy a butter knife and see what it does...
 
fitfreak_CP said:
I have got all them done. I truly believe they all work but it can be costly. I personally feel the best thing to invest your money is someone who does very good/aggressive deep tissue and then get a lacrosse ball and a very hard form roller. That will break up most scar tissue etc. if money isn't an issue I recommend them all. They truly open you up, increase flexibility, and I actually did measurements and my arms were bigger, back wider, and chest was wider after. If done right it works well
Click to expand...
.

That totally reminds me, I forgot to order a lacrosse ball. Was meaning to get one for a while.
Thanks!
 
A butter knife would be similar to scraping or not? Have heard about the butter knife for the ankles but would be usefull for more places as well?
Shabari wand should be very intense and tim ferriss recommends it, i might try it anywhere in the future. And it actually is haha, that's why it was a weird tool to use for this!

Cupping could also be very usefull for breaking up scar tissue if you use the sliding technique, my cupping set will come anywhere next week so will give an update on my expierence with it!
 
So i am trying scraping since you mentioned it :D.

I really notice that the spots where i have/had triggerpoints (i know due to dry-needling) are the spots where i get the red dots (what should mean theres a lot of scar tissue). First time i only scraped my latissimus dorsi on both sides and these got a lot of red dots, today i did it again and no red dots at all only a little redness that faded within a couple of minutes.

I also scraped my back of my shoulder, trapezius and chest since this where some spots for me to pay attention to, they all got red dots.
With the chest i did a mobility test with overhead range of motion and it increased after scraping (might be myself tricking myself but it is what i think right now).

Will give a update if it really helps!
 
Mudita said:
So i am trying scraping since you mentioned it :D.
Click to expand...

Did you put up the money for the proper tool or are you using a butter knife?

I haven't tried it yet. I am getting my spa repaired right now. Should be up and running in 2 weeks. My plan is to sit there and get my body warm for about 15 minutes, then go to town with my butter knife. Haha.
 
CCV3 said:
Did you put up the money for the proper tool or are you using a butter knife?

I haven't tried it yet. I am getting my spa repaired right now. Should be up and running in 2 weeks. My plan is to sit there and get my body warm for about 15 minutes, then go to town with my butter knife. Haha.
Click to expand...

I am using a butter knife, at first when i got to know scraping i wanted to buy a tool. But after all the butter knife is even more convenient then a tool lol, because i need to use it on myself it is pretty handy since it has a handle and you can get at your own back like that.

I would really love to have my own spa. Hot tub with magnesium salts and a infrared sauna in my own house would be dope (L).

I use baby or massage oil and then i go scraping otherwise it will be too rough, especially on hairy places. You don´t even have to push hard so thats why it feels like it is really working, how the **** would there get such bruising without even pushing hard :P.
 
I ordered a hard foam roller off amazon and it came with a ball similar to a lacrosse ball and another one that became a dog toy hahah
 
I'm glad I read this. Never heard of a butter knife for scraping. Might need to google that.

I had cervical fusion 4 years ago and 2 months after got hit head on by a drunk driver. I could never get the pain under control and got addicted to OxyContin and over came that. I've had epidural,nerve blocks, radio frequency. Had a nuerostimulator install 1 1/2 years ago. 6 months ago my legs stopped working after every test possible they needed to do an mri to figure out surgery option they pulled the stimulator out. Now this is a month ago. I said screw it and not dealing with the downward spiral of the crap I been dealing with I found a physical therapist that is awesome. Found most of my core muscles and other major muscles have stopped working. Anyways after years off from training and lost of 25 pounds of muscle replaced with 30 pounds of fat I'm optimistic and determine to get back to pre-neck surgery shape.

That being said I have scar tissue all up my spine and lower back from my stimulater. I had the scraping done a little and everything on my back felt like hard gravel. I wanted to see if you guys have any other recommendation to get rid of the scar tissue and to even loosen up my back muscle? I'm going to try the butter knife method also after I use the googler to check it out.

Sorry for long story but find it important.
 
witt51 said:
I wanted to see if you guys have any other recommendation to get rid of the scar tissue and to even loosen up my back muscle?
Click to expand...

I don't have back pains but someone I train with does and he says he breaks up by sitting in a spa with a jet on his back for about 15 minutes. Then gets out and uses this long stick with rolling beads on it. Lays it on the ground and then rolls back and forth just grinding it out. He doesnt have anyone to help him so he has to do it this way himself. Works. He can train, but then he just re-injures himself and has this what seems to be a never ending cycle of back pain. Looks sort of like this, except the middle parts actually spin on the stick. Invalid Link Removed
 
CCV3 said:
I don't have back pains but someone I train with does and he says he breaks up by sitting in a spa with a jet on his back for about 15 minutes. Then gets out and uses this long stick with rolling beads on it. Lays it on the ground and then rolls back and forth just grinding it out. He doesnt have anyone to help him so he has to do it this way himself. Works. He can train, but then he just re-injures himself and has this what seems to be a never ending cycle of back pain. Looks sort of like this, except the middle parts actually spin on the stick. Invalid Link Removed
Click to expand...
I will give one of those a try. I have like brick back from so much guarding. I lay on a cue ball and roll up and down my spine to loosen it up then do an inversion table for 15 minutes. I do have a nerve problem at l2-l3 so that seems to help. I'm so tempted to say "f**k it" and just got workout. Like your friend I'm sure it will be a never ending problem. I will take any advice and recommendations. Is that something you get from Amazon or at Walmart?
 
CCV3 said:
So has anyone tried any of these?
I try to mash things out on my own, but I was wondering if anyone uses tools or has gone to a "certified" practitioner.
Was it worth it?
Click to expand...

Yes Tried active release ART and it helped a lot since 2009. tennis ball, lacrosse ball, foam rollers, physical therapy .
 
John Smeton said:
Yes Tried active release ART and it helped a lot since 2009. tennis ball, lacrosse ball, foam rollers, physical therapy .
Click to expand...
Is that what worked the best? My PT does something like that but probably not as intense. Is it the same as myofascial release
 
witt51 said:
Is that what worked the best? My PT does something like that but probably not as intense. Is it the same as myofascial release
Click to expand...

You have to find a good ART therapist. there are two brothers in memphis , germantown Tn to be exact. One brother didnt help me, the other did. Find one that you trust. Yes ART helped me the most and got a major injurt better, two actually. the first was elbow, the second shoulder
 
I've been doing Graston style treatments on myself for a few years, and it's incredibly effective at helping to reduce scar tissue and other adhesions. I had a number of Grason treatments done professionally, and found it to be super effective so I was wondering about performing it on myself. I ended up purchasing a Starr tool, as the butter knife I was using initially wasn't as effective as I hoped for.

Invalid Link Removed

I just lubricate the area to be treated with vaseline petroleum jelly (trust me, make sure the area is sufficiently lubricated or you'll have a fresh skin wound to deal with) and run the tool back and forth over the area to be treated. When you find damaged tissue you'll feel a distinct scraping/gravelly sensation through the tool. In injured areas for myself I get distinct bruising over the treated area, which typically goes away in a few days. If I really go at the treatment with higher pressure there is some localized inflammation which I find leads to some stiffness, but sometimes I find this to me more effective than a gentler treatment. I just take it easy on the affected area for a few days if I end up with joint stiffness. I typically do 2 treatments a week or so in order to let the area fully heal up before hitting it with another treatment.

I've used this in a large number of areas, including traps, shoulders, side of neck, thumbs, elbows, forearms, wrists, thighs and obliques. The first few times you treat an area tend to be the most painful, and this pain tends to diminish with subsequent treatments.
 
fitfreak_CP said:
I have got all them done. I truly believe they all work but it can be costly. I personally feel the best thing to invest your money is someone who does very good/aggressive deep tissue and then get a lacrosse ball and a very hard form roller. That will break up most scar tissue etc. if money isn't an issue I recommend them all. They truly open you up, increase flexibility, and I actually did measurements and my arms were bigger, back wider, and chest was wider after. If done right it works well
Click to expand...

Nice post. Yes, this is probably best to find a good deep tissue massager , that does myofascial work. Sometimes the ART therapist would spend 10 minutes on me for 50$ plus I was driving two hours one way because that was the only ART therapist around.
 
I just went to a chiropractor who does ART and a bunch of other things and figured out my shoulder might not even be torn. Something about limited thoracic extension and weak serratus anterior causing winging of the scapula and limiting my lateral arm raise with lots of scar tissue. I've seen 2 orthos who both suspected a tear but weren't sure and there only answer was to go in and look around. After my appointment with the chiropractor my range of motion improved about 50% with one appointment. I'm hopeful again I won't need surgery. ART hurts like hell though and sure feels like he's gonna tear something.
 
GreenMachineX said:
I just went to a chiropractor who does ART and a bunch of other things and figured out my shoulder might not even be torn. Something about limited thoracic extension and weak serratus anterior causing winging of the scapula and limiting my lateral arm raise with lots of scar tissue. I've seen 2 orthos who both suspected a tear but weren't sure and there only answer was to go in and look around. After my appointment with the chiropractor my range of motion improved about 50% with one appointment. I'm hopeful again I won't need surgery. ART hurts like hell though and sure feels like he's gonna tear something.
Click to expand...

Congrats on the successful treatment. Definitely stick with it, the treatments should get less painful over time as there is less scar tissue to break up.
 
max silver said:
Congrats on the successful treatment. Definitely stick with it, the treatments should get less painful over time as there is less scar tissue to break up.
Click to expand...
It's weird though; as of today I've lost the ROM I gained the other day and it hurts quite a bit. I don't know if that's normal or
or part of the healing process.
 
I had a couple serious injuries to both my shoulders and lower back a few years back and have been dealing with these issues since.

Treatments that worked for me: ART, deep tissue, graston but as others have said these get pricey over time (although you can save some money using Groupon, medical insurance etc).

I have also had success with at home therapy using foam rollers (especially the ones with ridges), lacrosse ball, Gua Sha tool, cupping, PVC pipe and some others. There are ways of recreating the effects of ART using lacrosse balls at trigger points while the muscle is contacted and then extend while holding the ball in place.
 
max silver said:
Congrats on the successful treatment. Definitely stick with it, the treatments should get less painful over time as there is less scar tissue to break up.
Click to expand...
Agreed, The key is to develop a rapport with your provider. It can get expensive so offer to recruit new patients and and even be in a video for them & offer to buy a 'plan' or # of visits from them. Most chiros I have met have patients who are babies and cannot take the BRIEF pain or even heavy pressure graston. My guy in the east Tampa 'burbs used me as a teaching model for chiro students. He said he never had anyone who could take his 100% on the IT band.
Back to the subject- I agree that one needs to go until the problem is very much under control. Then keep going as maintenance. Nothing makes 'gains' like consistent effort and progress that is unimpeded.
 
GreenMachineX said:
It's weird though; as of today I've lost the ROM I gained the other day and it hurts quite a bit. I don't know if that's normal or
or part of the healing process.
Click to expand...

So I've had 3 appointments now with the chiro, and I can now lift my arm to the side up to 90 degrees! Still have a long way to go for complete healing and full ROM (still gets 'caught' on something in there at some places) but apparently I really only had severe impingement and only a minor tear of at all or just tendinosis. 2 orthos and 3 physical therapists all missed this.
The chiro is ordering an MRI to confirm it all though.
 
GreenMachineX said:
So I've had 3 appointments now with the chiro, and I can now lift my arm to the side up to 90 degrees! Still have a long way to go for complete healing and full ROM (still gets 'caught' on something in there at some places) but apparently I really only had severe impingement and only a minor tear of at all or just tendinosis. 2 orthos and 3 physical therapists all missed this.
The chiro is ordering an MRI to confirm it all though.
Click to expand...

This stretch may be of use to you, I've used it successfully in the past when dealing with shoulder issues.

Invalid Link Removed

You'll find that over time your range of motion in the stretch will improve, it makes a great addition to soft tissue treatment.
 
max silver said:
This stretch may be of use to you, I've used it successfully in the past when dealing with shoulder issues.

Invalid Link Removed

You'll find that over time your range of motion in the stretch will improve, it makes a great addition to soft tissue treatment.
Click to expand...

At the moment, that's the range of motion I don't have. Can't lift my arm at that 45 degree angle from my body when palm faces down.
 
CCV3 said:
So has anyone tried any of these?
I try to mash things out on my own, but I was wondering if anyone uses tools or has gone to a "certified" practitioner.
Was it worth it?
Click to expand...

I am a Chiropractor, and I use Graston on nearly all my patient's. It is a process though, and many practioner's do it differently. In my clinical experience, sometimes Graston is too aggressive to use right away, and must be built up to it. I personally believe when using Graston, the site of pain should not be the main focus, but rather entire fascial lines need to be addressed. Usually when people present with an issue, the site of pain is not the culprit, so when the local problem is the focus people do not get well and have chronic injuries. When entire fascial lines are addressed, people get much better results.
Another thing that needs to be remembered is consistency of care. If a person only goes once or twice, they probably wont get better. People should be seen multiple times a week for a few weeks, and then care can be decreased. Hope this helps
 
cck131 said:
I am a Chiropractor, and I use Graston on nearly all my patient's. It is a process though, and many practioner's do it differently. In my clinical experience, sometimes Graston is too aggressive to use right away, and must be built up to it. I personally believe when using Graston, the site of pain should not be the main focus, but rather entire fascial lines need to be addressed. Usually when people present with an issue, the site of pain is not the culprit, so when the local problem is the focus people do not get well and have chronic injuries. When entire fascial lines are addressed, people get much better results.
Another thing that needs to be remembered is consistency of care. If a person only goes once or twice, they probably wont get better. People should be seen multiple times a week for a few weeks, and then care can be decreased. Hope this helps
Click to expand...

What is your preference as far as intensity of treatment? I've seen practitioners that fall on both ends of the spectrum, one which uses such little force that I don't feel it's doing much, and one that goes so hard that I have bruising for close to a week.
 
I love Graston so much that I bought some tools for self / home use. Great stuff.

Nothing beats some handlebar action on the lats!!

I love the mobility star as well. Such a great tool for self treatment.
 
max silver said:
What is your preference as far as intensity of treatment? I've seen practitioners that fall on both ends of the spectrum, one which uses such little force that I don't feel it's doing much, and one that goes so hard that I have bruising for close to a week.
Click to expand...

That's a tough one, but I always go to patient tolerance. If the injury is acute, I usually start out a little lighter and go up to the point where the patient starts to try to "run away." Once the injury is out of the acute phase, that's when I get pretty aggressive. Some bruising is okay, but the patient should not be turning purple and black. In my experience, that causes more harm than good. Also, after about the 4-5 treatments, the pain diminishes quite a bit, and using the same aggressive pressure hurts a lot less, or doesn't hurt at all
 
Using your fingers, hands, thumb, etc all works when you know what your doing. As does tennis ball, foam roller, and lacrosse ball.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top