The desired therapeutic benefit is to re-establish proper muscle balances and decrease pain originating from a muscle. Techniques that incorporate an active component where the patient engages in a series of movements help towards the goal of normalizing muscle function.

Techniques:

Trigger Point Therapy (TrPT) is deep manual pressure applied to and held on sensitive "pressure points" within muscles. The goal is to break up these irritable spots to introduce circulation in and out of the muscle tissue. 

Instrument-Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization (IASTM) is a therapy used to decrease trigger points as well as aid in proper tissue healing.

An instrument is used to apply pressure to the restricted area which helps break down scar tissue and encourages the body to remodel the underlying tissue. During treatment, small capillaries in the area may be broken and this bruising is a normal response.  This signifies that a healing cascade is underway.

 Pin and Stretch Therapy-This is an active approach where pressure is applied to the dysfunctional muscle while the patient moves in  a manner that lengthens the muscle.