Improvised TCM treatments Series: IASTM (Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilisation)

Today let’s explore another common therapy that are found in physical therapy in sports medicine or even physical training world called the IASTM aka Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilisation.

To give those who have no idea what IASTM is, which is a very controversial therapy not medically recognized but common in the sports industry world, I’ll give a short introduction about it here.

Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilisation or Simply IASTM is a new range of tool which enables clinicians to efficiently locate and treat individuals diagnosed with soft tissue dysfunction. This therapy is derived from the Cyriax cross-friction massage developed by Dr James Cyriax who is an orthopedic doctor in the 1990s. The effectiveness of this therapy stems mainly from the ergonomic design and material of the instruments used, which was claimed to be mostly made of surgical grade stainless steel metal that has the ‘magical’ touch to break down scar tissues faster and more effectively.

ISATM is derived from TCM Guasha

It is already known that the techniques of IASTM originated from Traditional Chinese Medicine Guasha or Scrapping method.

TCM does not really talk about scar tissues in the world of the TCM language but Guasha does help to break the scar tissues down. In TCM terminology, breaking down of scar tissues is called resolving of blood stagnation and promoting fresh blood flow.

Hence IASTM is in fact TCM Guasha, repackaged.

History of IASTM is only less than 2 decades

As mentioned above, IASTM is developed only in the 1990s. Which means the history of this so called therapy is only less than two decades. As compared to TCM Guasha which history is more than 2 thousand years, I think you should be smart enough to see that IASTM is a improvised therapy of TCM Guasha.

IASTM: Highly Commercialized Tool for Profit Making Workshops

The selling point of IASTM is that the material of the tools used is made of high grade medical surgical stainless steel which has a miraculous cure for scar tissue.

I have experienced the technique of IASTM from some practitioners who used them and I realized the strength of the practitioner when executing this therapy is much softer than TCM Guasha It is almost as if just smoothing the tool over the skin of the pain area. And I asked them why so soft. They said because the main effectiveness comes from the material of the IASTM, proclaimed to be the magical tool for healing scar tissues. I was skeptical.

Then I probed further and realized many people especially in the West ran workshop selling IASTM courses and tools to the practitioners. Trust me, the courses and the tools were not cheap. And they priced it that high with the justification that because the material of the tools was expensive. Again they emphasized on the keywords ‘high grade’, ‘medical’, ‘surgical’ stainless steel.

So the idea that I get from this IASTM hype is basically people are taking ancient techniques and changing whatever they can to give it the scientific Western medical endorsement so they can upsell it.

The point is in TCM Guasha, technique is the key, tool is secondary. Because techniques are hard to master, I guess switching the tools and selling is an easier way out for money making. Both from course takers and patients. Smart business tactics.

Scientific evidence are showing IASTM does not work

I did a simple search on google and so easily to find negative reviews on IASTM. You can check out the link below.

https://squareone.com.sg/resources/breaking-news-iastm-does-not-work-singapore-chiropractor/

Time is the key to tell if something is authentic and works. As I always said, TCM has withstood thousands of years. IASTM less than 20 years and already the fort is faltering.