What are Ninja weapons doing at my practice?

Muscle and pain relief  – Smart tools

Did you know there is an 80% likelihood that you will suffer from back or neck pain?

Release of myofascial soft tissue (also known simply as “fascia”). As you know I always strive to be at the forefront of new developments and constantly study the latest research to improve the outcome of your treatments.

I asked my brother to collect a set of these Smart tools from the Unites States for me on his way to China. After I sent him a picture of the toolset his response was: “I think I will get them on my way back from the States and not to China.”  (They scan your onboard luggage in Xian and this looks like a ninja set!). As you can see from these pictures they look quite “interesting”.

These tools provide an alternative form of release for the muscles with the added advantage of having a systemic effect.

In Chinese medicine, we use a technique called Gua sha (meaning scraping bruises, or loosely translated as effleurage*). The Smart Tool system is the new take on this treatment.

What is myofascial tissue?
About 6 years ago the sheath between your skin and muscle was studied extensively. Medical science has revealed that this sheath known as the myofascial layer is as sensitive as your cornea. Your cornea is the most sensitive organ in your body. Imagine that this sheath is like cling wrap plastic. If you had to pull too hard on the cling wrap or burn it – as happens to the fascia in trauma – the cling wrap would tear or shrink. This is pretty much what happens in your body when you have an injury or even if you sit in a position for too long. Too long can even be 15 minutes. After 15 minutes we develop trigger points in the body. This layer needs to be smoothed out in order for it to return to its original condition. Most massage therapies tend to work on the muscular system and miss this very important organ.

When this technique is used:

Some of the indications for muscle problems:
Scarring
Trigger points include prior injuries that have not been resolved
Tight spots

Knee problems

Tennis elbow
Restriction of movement
Joint pain
TMJ (temporal mandibular disorder)
Back and neck pain
Headaches

If you have a restriction somewhere it will affect other areas in your body in a predictable way. For example, if you have a right hip problem you will develop a left shoulder pain over time if the hip is not treated.

The tool treatments are fairly painless; in fact, most patients have told me how they have felt immediate and lasting relief with the tools in a matter of a few minutes. I combine the treatment with acupuncture to enhance the treatment and speed up the healing capability of your body.

Case study: the patient had an injury 2 years previously and was still experiencing a tight feeling of walking. After 3 minutes of release using the smart tools on the tissue around the foot, the pain was gone. I have had to follow up sessions with the patient for other problems and this problem has never come up again.