IASTM / SCRAPING

Scraping, or Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Manipulation (IASTM), comes from the notion that why should a manual therapist limit her tools to only the appendages she was born with? It’s an ancient and originally Eastern approach — called Gua sha in Chinese massage, coining in Vietnam and Khòodt in Thai massage — but still relatively unfamiliar in Western massage outside of a more manual and rehabilitative approach.

This practice, which started with tools made from buffalo horn pieces, ceramic spoons and gently curved wooden pieces (Kelly still keeps her tools collected during her training trip to Northern Thailand on her office shelf), gained more recognition and familiarity through the Graston technique, which uses a specifically designed set of thin stainless steel tools usually in a physical therapy setting.

Already a fan, but wanting to add a more anatomical and neurological approach to her Thai scraping training, Kelly took the RockTape IASTM trainings (FMT Blades and Blades Advanced) and fell in love with the heavier feel and thicker, beveled edges of their steel scraping tools. These tools allow her to access deeper pressure when needed but avoid the redder after-effects of most scraping sessions on the skin, although sometimes that is unavoidable.

Scraping uses tissue traction to treat gliding dysfunctions of the skin, nerves and fascia, by creating space between the layers of the body. It also relieves pain while increasing range of motion, and can treat scar tissue, trigger an inflammatory healing response and reduce swelling.

(So that Kelly can use the tools she feels fit the client, all massage modalities are included in either your deep tissue or Thai massage at no extra charge.)