Graston Technique
Instrument-assisted soft tissue therapy designed to help address muscle tension, scar tissue, adhesions, and fascial restrictions.
See Graston Technique in Action
Watch the short video to see Graston Technique during an actual treatment session.
What Is Graston Technique?
The Graston Technique® is a modern, evidence-based form of soft tissue therapy that uses patented stainless-steel instruments to assist practitioners in detecting and treating areas of muscle tension, scar tissue, adhesions, and fascial restrictions.
Unlike traditional massage or manual therapy alone, Graston tools allow the therapist to feel and target restrictions beneath the skin more precisely.
When soft tissue becomes injured — whether through repetitive stress, direct trauma, surgery, or poor posture — the body responds by laying down scar tissue. While scar tissue is part of the natural healing process, excessive buildup can restrict normal movement, cause pain, and contribute to long-term dysfunction if not addressed.
The Graston Technique is designed to gently break up abnormal tissue, promote better alignment of collagen fibers during healing, and stimulate the local inflammatory response in a controlled way to support recovery.
What Happens During a Graston Session?
During a Graston session, the practitioner applies a specialized tool along the skin in a specific pattern. The tools vary in shape and size to adapt to different areas of the body, such as the spine, shoulders, elbows, knees, or ankles.
You may feel a slight “gritty” sensation where there are adhesions. Treatment usually involves slow, repetitive strokes combined with clinical judgment to determine the right amount of pressure.
After treatment, many patients experience changes in mobility and a gradual decrease in pain. It is often combined with therapeutic exercises, stretching, or joint mobilizations to support results and help reduce the risk of re-injury.
Conditions Commonly Treated With Graston Technique
- Chronic soft tissue injuries, such as Achilles tendinopathy or rotator cuff injuries
- Post-surgical scar tissue management
- Plantar fasciitis
- Tennis elbow and golfer’s elbow
- Neck and low back pain related to soft tissue tension
- IT band syndrome
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Patellar tendinitis, also known as jumper's knee
Mild bruising, redness, or soreness after a session is common and considered a normal part of the healing response as the body works to remodel the tissue.
In summary, Graston Technique is not just about relieving pain temporarily — it aims to restore proper tissue function, improve range of motion, and prevent long-term movement problems.
Relevant Research & Clinical Evidence
- A 2024 study published in Anaesthesia, Pain & Intensive Care compared instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilisation (IASTM, the category Graston falls into) against manual myofascial release in patients with chronic low back pain. It was a quasi-experimental study rather than a randomised trial, and found IASTM produced improvements in pain, mobility, and disability comparable to, and on some measures better than, manual release.
- Smaller studies have looked at instrument-assisted techniques for athletic injuries and their effect on fibroblast activity and collagen remodelling during soft tissue healing. This is still an emerging area of research, evidence for Graston specifically, as opposed to instrument-assisted soft tissue work generally, is currently limited to smaller studies rather than large randomised trials.
As with most manual therapy techniques, more high-quality research specific to Graston Technique would strengthen the evidence base further.
Frequently Asked Questions
Learn more about what Graston Technique feels like, how it may be used, and who performs treatment.
