Weight Lifting Injury Treatment With Graston Technique

Iron Athletes – Preventing and Recovering From Weight Lifting Injuries

Weightlifting is more popular than ever these days. While the gym has been an old standby ever since the fitness craze took off in the 1970s, weightlifting has been invigorated by several remarkable trends. First, weightlifting, particularly olympic lifting, is a critical component of CrossFit, another fitness phenomenon, which has only added to the sport's popularity; CrossFit has brought millions of people into the gym and face to face with a loaded barbell for the first time in their lives. Additionally, more and more women have entered the sport as well, whether to compete or just to get more physically fit. While all of this is a seemingly positive trend, there is one downside - injuries.

Thousands of people are injured each year while lifting weights. A recent study found that weightlifting injuries had increased by over 50 percent in the past quarter century. The injuries varied between the sexes, too; women often injured their feet and legs, while men were more likely to injure their hands and torso muscles. Sprains, muscle tears, and tendonitis, are the typical (and often painful) soft tissue injuries men and women face when something goes awry in the gym Fortunately, tendonitis or a sore hamstring do not have to keep you away from the squat rack forever; there are new and innovative techniques to treat common weightlifting injuries, alleviate pain, and get you back in the gym in no time.

The Graston Technique: Great for Weightlifters

One of the newer treatments for typical weightlifting injuries is the Graston Technique (GT). GT is a form of soft tissue mobilization. GT involves a trained practitioner using a specially designed set of stainless steel instruments to manipulate afflicted soft tissue. The GT instruments allow clinicians to identify injured tissue, and then are used to break down scar tissue and other restrictors. The technique facilitates increased blood flow to problem areas, alleviates pain, and can speed up the recovery process. While still a relatively new medical innovation, several clinical trials have affirmed the Graston Technique's effectiveness at addressing soft tissue injuries.

GT therapy is great news for people who lift weights. Dedicated or new weightlifters typically experience strained muscles and tendons, or adhesions, which keep muscles painfully tight and limit range of motion. Additionally, GT can immediately address the buildup of scar tissue, alleviate lingering pain, and promote soft tissue healing. The Graston technique can be especially effective at addressing injuries before they become serious and debilitating, so it is worth checking with your physical therapist to get treatment as soon as your aches and pains start adding up.

Active Release Treatment Therapy (ART) for Gym Aches and Pains

Active Release Therapy, or ART, is another relatively new non-invasive technique to treat injuries commonly seen in weightlifters. ART is a patented technique that involves hand manipulation of soft tissue by a trained practitioner. ART's 500-move treatment protocol is exceptionally effective at identifying damaged soft tissue, and then treating it. These carefully designed, precision movements, like GT, can help increase blood flow, alleviate pain, and restore range of motion. All of this, again, is great news for weightlifters everywhere.

ART can help address the type of muscle tears and soft tissue pains that weightlifters are prone to suffer from. Specially trained ART practitioners are adept at identifying the source of soft tissue injury or pain, then breaking down the scar tissue causing it. Active Release Therapy is also used as a preventative measure to keep muscles and tendons primed for workouts, thus avoiding injury altogether. One competitive weightlifter named Jim Vaglica, plagued by a debilitating calf injury, credited ART with alleviating his pain and enabling him to become a top-notch competitor once again. He noted that after a few weeks of ART treatments, his calf "felt completely healed and pain free." If pain is holding you back from your personal best in the gym, ART may be the right choice for you.

Get Better, and Get Back to the Bench

Weightlifting is an extremely popular and effective way to get fit and strong and stay that way. The repetitive stress that weightlifting puts on your body, like any other demanding sports, can frequently lead to recurring pain or injury. The Graston Technique and Active Release Therapy offer weightlifters innovative ways to keep muscles and tendons in good shape, and prevent injury altogether. They are also extremely effective at treating soft tissue injuries and rapidly getting you back in the gym and working out. So don't wait until it's too late. Do your homework, find a clinician who offers GT or ART and keep yourself injury free rep after rep.

Our Chandler Chiropractic and Physical Therapy clinic treats patients with a variety of muscle, tendon, joint, and ligament injuries. The clinic provides treatment for runners, tri-athletes, and weekend warriors in addition to common headache, neck, and back patients traditionally seen in Chiropractic, Physical Therapy, Massage Therapy clinics. We work with all ages and abilities of the residents in Phoenix, Tempe, Gilbert, Mesa, and Chandler AZ.