The Who
What is ASTYM?
ASTYM is short for Augmented Soft Tissue Manipulation. It involves running a set of tools on the surface of the body to help stimulate healing in patients with chronic tendon disorders and problematic soft tissue conditions. Often times soft tissue dysfunctions persist due to a combination of excessive scar tissue buildup and degeneration of tendons. What ASTYM does is to stimulate the body’s natural healing response, resulting in resorption and remodeling of scar tissue and regeneration of the degenerated tendons.
The Problem
When should I consider ASTYM as a treatment?
Conditions that we have treated successfully with ASTYM:
- Scarring after surgery
- Scarring after trauma
- Tennis Elbow
- Golfers Elbow
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
- DeQuervain’s Tenosynovitis
- Rotator Cuff Tendinopathy
- Plantar Fasciopathy
- Chronic Ankle Sprains
- Achilles Tendinopathy
- Shin Splints
- Anterior knee pain
- Patellar Tendinopathy
- Hamstring Strains
- Ilio-Tibial Band (ITB) Syndrome
- Hip Pain / Trochanteric Bursitis
- Sacro-iliac (SIJ) and Lower back pain
- Most Chronic Tendinopathies
Patients have achieved resolution of their symptoms after “failing“ other treatments such as surgery, injections, conventional physiotherapy, splinting, bracing and chiropractics.
Patients are allowed to, and encouraged to be as active as possible while receiving this treatment, as it is a key part of getting full resolution of their symptoms. A customized stretching and exercise program is incorporated and shown to the client as part of this process.
The Solution
What does ASTYM do for patients with chronic soft tissue issues?
Based on statistics gathered from patients receiving ASTYM across North America, 88% of all patients have achieved improved function and less pain, even if the condition is chronic and they have received other treatments in the past.
The main advantages of ASTYM treatment are:
- Patients are encouraged to be active throughout their treatments
- The treatment course is fast (a few weeks)
- The treatment is non-invasive – No needles, drugs, no surgery
- It fixes the problem to achieve a permanent resolution of patient’s symptoms
- It was developed by medical professionals through years of research
The typical treatment course is 4-5 weeks, with an average of 9 visits in total. Patients can expect some soreness as they heal, as well as some mild bruising initially. However this decreases quickly as patients continue to receive treatment and as they start to heal.
To see what treatment is like, follow the link below for a video on the treatment technique:
www.astym.com/patients/treatment.asp
For more information on ASTYM, come in for a visit at Oakridge Physiotherapy, email us on our website, give us a call, or have a look at the ASTYM website: