OUR SERVICES
Focused shockwave, Active Release Technique (ART) soft tissue therapy and sports rehabilitation
Areas of specialization are Active Release Techniques (ART), Focused Shockwave, Graston Technique, Chiropractic, Myofascial Decompression, Functional Exercise Rehabilitation/Therapy. Main focus is using manual techniques to address soft tissue injuries and then incorporating a home exercise program to facilitate healing and maintain health. Chiropractic adjustments are used to assist in this process.
CHIROPRACTIC | ART | GRASTON | MYOFASCIAL DECOMPRESSION
EXERCISE REHABILITATION | FMS/SFMA | FOCUSED SHOCKWAVE
CHIROPRACTIC
Chiropractic care plays a vital role in your overall health. The nervous system on signals from the body's joints for optimal function, and chiropractic adjustments help maintain proper joint health. For athletes, chiropractic care enhances peak performance by improving oxygen flow, which is essential for muscle strength and endurance. Targeted adjustments can boost lung capacity, ensuring better oxygen delivery to the muscles and brain. Research shows that chiropractic is effective in alleviating low back pain by breaking adhesions in the spine and deep muscles caused by inflammation. Additionally, chiropractic can help manage chronic headaches and migraines and suitable for individuals of all ages, including children, the elderly, pregnant women, injured workers, and casual athletes.
ART Soft Tissue Management is a sophisticated manual method that addresses issues arising from damage to muscles, ligaments, fascia, and nerves. How do overuse injuries occur? Soft tissue injuries can result from sudden tears or sprains, repetitive motions (such as carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis, and bursitis), or a reduced supply to the tissues. How does the body respond to injury? In response to injury, the body releases inflammatory chemicals and forms fibrous scar tissue known as adhesions. Even after an injury has “healed,” weaker, less elastic tissue can restrict movement, causing muscles to shorten and increasing tension on tendons, which may lead to tendonosis. Additionally, nerves can become trapped by adhesions, resulting in like tingling, numbness, or weakness. What conditions can ART treat? ART can help with headaches, back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, plantar fasciitis, knee problems tennis elbow, shoulder pain, and shin splints.
ART (Active Release Techniques)
The Graston Technique is an innovative, patented method of instrument soft tissue mobilization that allows clinicians to effectively break scar and fascial restrictions using specially designed stainless steel instruments that can accurately identify and treat areas of soft tissue fibrosis or chronic inflammation. Graston Technique shortens overall treatment time, promotes quicker rehabilitation and recovery, lowers the need anti-inflammatory medications, resolves chronic conditions previously considered permanent.
GRASTON TECHNIQUE
MYOFASCIAL DECOMPRESSION/CUPPING
Myofascial Decompression offers an alternative method for treating soft tissue adhesions. This technique employs negative pressure (cups) alongside specific movement patterns. Instead of applying compression, it lifts fascia, enhancing mobility by creating a pull on adhered structures that often lack blood flow. This approach is particularly effective in orthopedics, medicine, contractures, post-operative recovery, addressing dominance strategies, postural syndromes, hand therapy, neuro re-education, and scar mobilization.
EXERCISE REHABILITATION
Exercise rehabilitation at Integro Sports utilizes functional exercises that are highly effective returning an athlete to their sport or helping an injured worker get back on the job. The exercises are centered around two different types of movement screens known as FMS and SFMA. These screens identify where a patient lacks mobility, stability, and/or strength. Based on these findings, an exercise program is created to encourage more ideal movement patterns; when appropriate, we integrate local soft tissue therapy to further support recovery. The goal of each program is to improve posture, mobility, and stability, which in turn helps build the strength needed to overcome physical challenges in both work and athletic pursuits. The focus of all exercises is on the quality of movement, developing functional strength and flexibility so that your body becomes more adept at performing daily activities and hobbies. Core stability is a primary aspect of exercise rehabilitation, and most exercises work from this central aspect out to the rest of the body. Drawing from the work of Gray Cook PT, Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization (DNS), and Paul Chek personal training, a specific, personalized set of exercises is provided, which facilitates soft tissue healing, decreases pain sensation, and effectively prevents re-injury.
FOCUSED SHOCKWAVE
How Focused Shockwave Compares to Other Treatments
While ART and Graston are gold-standard manual therapies, Focused Shockwave works through a different biological mechanism. Here is how they differ:
Focused Shockwave vs. ART (Active Release Technique)
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How ART Works: ART is a movement-based massage technique. Use of hands to identify and provide specific tension to create relative motion between muscles or nerves, helping to release adhesions and restore normal motion.
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How Shockwave Differs: While ART is incredible for "unsticking" muscles and nerves, Shockwave goes deeper hands can reach. It doesn't rely on manual tension; instead, it uses acoustic energy to restart the healing process in tendons and ligaments where circulation is naturally low.
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The Verdict: I often use ART to restore movement patterns, but I'll bring in Shockwave if a specific tendon is "stuck" in a chronic state and needs a cellular "jumpstart" to heal.
Focused Shockwave vs. Graston Technique
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How Graston Works: Graston uses stainless steel instruments to "scan" and treat the surface of the soft tissue. It’s excellent for breaking up scar tissue and smoothing out the fascia (the "shrink wrap" around your muscles).
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How Shockwave Differs: Graston is a "top-down" approach that creates friction on the surface to signal the body to heal. Shockwave is a deep-penetrating approach. Because it is "focused," the energy passes through the skin without much friction and delivers its maximum impact deep inside the tissue or even at the bone-tendon interface.
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The Verdict: Graston is for surface-level fascial restrictions. If the problem is deeper, like a calcified tendon or chronic plantar fasciitis, Shockwave is the more effective tool for the job.
Why use all of them?
Think of it this way: Graston and ART clean up the "pathway" by smoothing out muscles and restoring movement. Focused Shockwave acts as the "rebuilding crew," triggering the biological repair of the actual tissue fibers deep inside.