Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilisation in the Management of Musculoskeletal Pain: A Literature Review with Implications for Clinical Practice Guidelines

• Main Authors: Mallika Bitra, SG Sudhan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: JCDR Research and Publications Private Limited 2019-12-01
• Series: Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research
• Subjects: myofascial release; musculoskeletal disorders; myofascial tools; soft tissue function
• Online Access: https://jcdr.net/articles/PDF/13356/42687_F(SL)_CE[Ra1]_KM_PF1(AG_SHU)_PFA(SHU)_PB(AG_SHU)_PN(SL).pdf

Musculoskeletal conditions are common and involve most of the tissue types. Soft tissue mobilisation is a type of manual therapy administered by hand or with a rigid device. Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilisation (IASTM) is a technique which uses instruments to remove scar tissues and helps to facilitate healing in soft tissue injuries. Several IASTM tools and techniques are available to provide the soft tissue mobilisation. The purpose of this review article is to appraise evidence and show insight on history, mechanism and effects of IASTM. A literature search was conducted from PubMed, Embase, PEDro and Science Direct database journals to identify potential articles. Forty articles were identified, 32 articles were considered for the review. Based on the available case studies and experimental studies, IASTM can help the scar tissue mobilisation, musculoskeletal injuries. Still more articles and research must emerge to provide more evidence on IASTM.